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IN  THE 
WAKE   OF  COLUMBUS 


ADVENTURES  OF  THE  SPECIAL  COMMISSIONER  SENT 

BY  THE  WORLD'S  COLUMBIAN  EXPOSITION 

TO  THE  WEST  INDIES 


BY 


FREDERICK   A.    OBER 


Author  of  "Travels  In  Mexico,"  "The  Silver  City. 
"  Montezuma's  Gold  Mines,"  etc  ,  etc., 


With  above  two  hundred  illustrations  from  photographs  by  the 
Author,  and  sketches  by  H.  B.  Blaney 


BOSTON 


D.    LOTHROP    COMPANY 

1893 


Copyright,  1893, 

BY 

Frederick  A.  Ober 
All  rights  reserved 


l&ESpcctfttllg  USetJtcatttJ 


AS    A    PERSONAL     TRIBUTE 
TO 

HARLOW  N.    HIGINBOTHAM 

PRESIDENT  OF  THE  WORLD'S  COLUMBIAN  EXPOSITION 
AND 

WILLIAM  ELEROY  CURTIS 

CHIEF  OF  THE  LATIN-AMERICAN  DEPARTMENT 


AND    TO 

ALL  OFFICIALS,  NATIONAL  AND  LOCAL 

WHO    HAVE    CONTRIBUTED    TO    THE    SUCCESS    OF    THE 

GREATEST  EXPOSITION  OF  THE  WORLD'S  HISTORY 

BY   THE 

SPECIAL  COMMISSIONER  TO  THE  WEST  INDIES 


PREFACE. 


Sixteen  years  ago,  while  sailing  between  Dominica  and  Martinique, 
those  verdure-clad  islands  lying  midway  the  Caribbee  chain,  I  first 
looked  upon  land  discovered  by  Columbus. 

I  will  not  deny  that  I  was  strangely  thrilled ;  nor  shall  any  scoffer  put 
me  down  as  a  sentimental  voyager  because  I  attached  to  those  islands 
an  importance  not  implied  in  the  Admiralty  charts. 

In  the  two  succeeding  years  I  had  threaded  the  chain  of  the  Caribbees, 
explored  all  the  islands  discovered  by  the  Admiral  in  his  second  and 
third  voyages,  hunted  in  the  forests  in  which  he  and  his  men  had  en- 
countered the  cannibal  Caribs,  and  had  lived  for  months  with  the  de- 
scendants of  those  same  fierce  Indians  so  graphically  described  by  the  pen 
of  the  great  Discoverer. 

In  1SS0  I  re-visited  the  West  Indies,  and  added  other  islands  to  those 
already  investigated,  my  object  (as  on  the  previous  voyage)  being  the 
ornithological  exploration  of  the  Lesser  Antilles.  Birds  and  woods  — 
the  avi-fauna  of  the  islands  and  the  great  forests  —  were  the  subjects  I 
particularly  studied  ;  but,  from  being  constantly  on  the  trail  of  the  great 
Genoese,  I  at  last  became  interested  in  the  story  of  his  voyagings,  and 
began  to  collect  information  regarding  the  places  identified  with  his  life 
and  labors. 

In  1 88 1,  on  the  coast  of  Yucatan,  I  was  reminded  of  his  last  voyage 
in  the  year  1502,  when  he  encountered  that  great  canoe  laden  with  cho- 
colate beans,  copper  utensils  and  cotton,  and  guided  by  mariners  of  a 
higher  order  of  intelligence  than  any  other  of  these  new  peoples  he  had 
seen.  Seven  years  later,  in  the  Bahamas,  I  saw  that  island  on  which 
Columbus  landed  —  San  Salvador  or  Guanahani  —  rising  ghost-like  from 
the  sea;  the  first  landfall  of  the  eventful  voyage  of  1492.  The  south 
coast  of  Cuba  gave  me  the  emerald  "  Gardens  of  the  Queen,"  and  the 
"  Bay  of  the  Hundred  Fires." 


PREFACE. 

Wherever  I  have  wandered,  it  will  be  seen,  I  have  met  with  reminders 
of  Columbus;  and,  having  viewed  with  so  keen  an  interest  these  jewels 
of  his  gathering,  with  which  he  adorned  the  crown  of  Spain,  was  it 
strange  that  I  was  impelled  to  seek  that  Mother  Country,  and  that  when 
there  I  found  no  more  precious  relics  than  those  of  the  Admiral  of  the 
Ocean  Sea? 

Having  followed  the  fortunes  of  Columbus,  in  a  desultory  manner, 
for  nearly  fifteen  years,  it  was  extremely  gratifying  to  have  offered  me 
the  opportunity  for  further  investigation  afforded  in  the  appointment  as 
Columbian  Commissioner  to  the  West  Indies.  It  was  purely  fortuitous, 
as  I  had  no  previous  acquaintance  with  any  of  the  officials  ;  but,  being 
specially  charged  to  search  out  every  spot  and  relic  of  the  discovery,  I 
was  thus  enabled  to  carry  out  my  own  explorations  and  complete  an 
exhaustive  study  of  the  subject. 

In  this  work,  which  I  have  called  "In  the  Wake  of  Columbus,"  I  aim 
to  present  what  may  be  termed  the  environment  of  the  Admiral;  giving 
scenes  with  which  he  was  identified,  starting  with  the  inception  of  the 
enterprise  in  Spain,  carrying  the  action  across  the  Atlantic  to  the  first 
landfall,  through  the  Bahamas  to  Cuba,  thence  to  the  scene  of  the  first 
wreck  and  the  first  fort,  on  the  coast  of  Haiti,  the  first  settlement  at 
Isabella,  the  initial  attempts  at  discovery  in  Espanola,  showing  where 
the  gold  was  found  and  the  first  cities  started — in  fact,  following  him 
through  all  his  voyages,  writing  every  description  from  personal  observa- 
tion, and  using  the  historical  events  merely  as  a  golden  thread  upon 
which  to  string  the  beads  of  this  Columbian  rosary. 

Whether  my  work  has  been  well  done  or  badly  done,  such  as  it  is  I 
now  offer  it  —  a  tribute  to  our  great  Exposition  ;  to  the  genius  that  con- 
ceived, the  courage  that  continued,  the  energy  that  executed,  and  the 
faith  that  sustained  to  a  triumphant  conclusion,  this  the  grandest  work 
<>f  its  kind  the  world  has  ever  seen;  the  crowning  event  of  a  century 
rilled  with  wonders  and  miracles  of  man's  invention. 
Washington,  April,  1893. 


CONTENTS. 


Chapter 

I.  The  Bridge  that  Spanned  the  World 

II.  At  the  New  World's  Portal 

III.  In  Guanahani  with  Columbus 

IV.  Where  was  the  Admiral's  Landfall 
V.  Through  the  Bahama  Isles 

VI.  The  Commissioner's  Mission  to  Cuba 

VII.  North  Coast  of  Cuba  to  Haiti  . 

VIII.  The  Haitian  Civilization     . 

IX.  The  Buccaneers  and  the  Black  King 

X.  The  First  American  Christmas  . 

XI.  Round  about  Isabella  . 

XII.  Where  the  First  Gold  was  Found 

XIII.  The  Port  of  the  Silver  Mountain 

XIV.  Samana  and  the  Bay  of  Arrows 
XV.  The  Holy  Hill  of  Santo  Domingo     . 


Page 

I 

23 

52 

85 
104 

121 

148 

i73 

192 

217 
235 
259 
277 
292 
302 


CONTENTS. 

XVI.  The  Earthquake-buried  Towns  .         ,321 

XVII.  In  Santo  Domingo  City        .         .         .  338 

XVIII.  "Where  is  the  Tomb  of  Columbus?        .  363 

XIX.  Puerto  Rico  and  Ponce  de  Leon        .  388 

XX.  Among  the  Saints  and  the  Virgins   .  413 

XXI.  An  Island  quite  out  of  the  World  .  426 

XXII.  The  Second  Voyage  to  the  New  World  448 

XXIII.  Carib  Islands  and  Lake  Dwellers      .  471 

XXIV.  Jamaica  and  the  Wreck  of  Columbus   .  492 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Columbus   received    by   the    Catholic    kings 

after  his  first  voyage         .         .          .  Front is. 

In  the  Convent  Garden         .....  J 

Dona  Carmen  and  Carmcncita    ....  j 

The  Atalaya  of  Arbolote     .....  S 

Distant  view  of  the  Alhambra     ....  g 

The  marble  head  of  the  Moor  at  Santa  Fe  .         .  n 

City  gate  of  Santa  Fe           .....  12 

The  Bridge  of  Pines   ......  ij 

Santa  Fe'  across  the  Vega     .....  IJ 

Entrance  to  the  Bridge  of  Pines  .         ...  18 

The  taking  of  Moclin           .....  ip 

The  crosses  of  Zubia   ......  21 

A  corner  of  my  garden  at  Granada     ...  22 

Moorish  arch  at  Palos          .....  2j 

The  Mosque  of  a  Thousand  Columns  at  Cordova  .  23 

Church  of  St.  George,  Palos         ....  2j 

Seville,  with  the  Tower  of  Gold  in  the  foreground  ji 

The  Convent  of  La  Rabida           .         .         .         .  jy 

The  Mir  a  dor  of  La  Rabida          ....  jp 

In  the  Convent  Court  ......  <// 

The  Columbus  Room,  Convent  of  La  Rabida        .  ^5 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Alabaster  tomb  at  Burgos   . 

Cross  at  La  Rabida     . 

Crossing  the  Sargasso  Sea  . 

Map  shewing  the  route  of  t/ie  first   voyage  of 

Columbus 
,  I  salt  heap  on  Fortune  Island    . 
Windmill  for  pumping  salt  water 
My  "Turtler"    .... 
Looking  across  the  lagoons  on  Wat  ling's  Island 
The  landing-place  of  Columbus   . 
Skull  of  Bahama  Indian 
Indian  antiquities  from  the  Bahamas 
Carved  scat  of  lignum-vitcc  from  the  Bahamas 
Map  of  1  /  'at ling 's  Island    .... 
The  headland  coast  of  Wat  ling's  Island 
Green's  Harbor,   Wat ling's  Island 
The  coast  of  Watling's  Island     . 
J  lap,   showing  route  from    Watling's   Island  to 

Cuba  .... 

Indian  celt,  from  Cat  Island 
Indian  chisel  found  in  the  Islands 
Stone  axe,   Turk's  Island     . 
Natives  of  Watling's  Island 
Pushing  through  the  canal,   1  Catling's  Island 
Cave  on  Cat  Island 
On  the  beach  of  Watling's  Island 
The  silk-cotton  tree,  Nassau 
Statue  of  Columbus,  front  view 
Statue  of  Columbus,  rear  viae    . 
Guauahaui,  or  Watling's  Island — Lady  Blake 

Aquarelle  ..... 


49 
5 1 

52 

55 
58 
60 

6l 
66 
69 

75 
78 
82 

85 
9° 
93 
97 

99 

102 
103 
lOJ 

105 
I06 
108 
110 

HI 
116 
117 

no 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Tablet  bust  in  cathedral  at  Havana,  in  met/wry 

of  Columbus      ..... 

121 

Palm  Avenue       ...... 

125 

Cathedral  St.  Maria  de  la  Conception,  Havana, 

Cuba          ...... 

ISO 

The  Morro           ...... 

133 

Lcs  Cabanas         ...... 

135 

Morro  Castle,  Harbor  of  Havana 

137 

At  the  Market    ...... 

i38 

On  the  Pasco       ...... 

141 

Belem          ....... 

142 

Real  Acadamia,  Havana     .... 

144 

A  bit  of  old  Havana    ..... 

147 

Royal  Palms        ...... 

148 

Selling  plants  in  Havana     .... 

150 

Plaza  de  Armas,  Havana    .... 

152 

"  Morning    mist,'"     Yumuri    J 'alley   from 

the 

Cumbrcs  ...... 

155 

Yumuri  Valley,  from  the  hill  of  Guadeloupe 

i58 

Mountains  of  Zibara            .... 

160 

North  coast  of  Cuba    ..... 

163 

Baracoa       ....... 

166 

In  the  Volaute,  Cuba  ..... 

i6cj 

Frederick  Douglas       ..... 

173 

Hyppolite    ....... 

175 

Hyppolite  and  staff     ..... 

177 

Abandoned  estate,  coast  of  Haiti 

181 

D.  F.  Legitime   . 

1*3 

A  viezv  from  the  residence  of  the  EnglisJi  consul, 

Haiti 

186 

Tortuga,  the  pirates'  paradise 

193 

ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Old  Buccaneer  watch-tower,  coast  of  Haiti 
Sans  Souci,  the  Black  King's  palace     . 
Sans  Souci,  ruins  of  the  Black  King's  palace 
The  Black  King's  castle       .... 

Old  mortars  in  the  Black  King's  castle 
Broken  arch,  the  Black  King's  castle  . 
Beauty  and  the  beasts,  found  at  Jlillot 
A  religious  procession  at  Cape  Haiticn 
The  Santa  Maria,  the  flag-ship  of  Columbus 
The  wrecked  caravel  ..... 

In  Petit  A  use      ...... 

Soldiers  of  the  guard  at  rest 

The  anchor  of  Columbus,  found  at  Petit  A  use 

St.  John  and  the  Agnus  Dei 

The  old  convent  ...... 

Huckster's  shanty,  on  the  river  Yaqui 
The  Bajo-Bonico  ..... 

( )n  the  bluff  at  Isabella        .... 

Site  of  Isabella   ...... 

Map  of  Isabella  ...... 

The  cactus-covered  ruins  of  Isabella     . 
Coco's  idol  ....... 

J  iew  on  the  Bajo-Bonico  near  the  Hidalgos'  pass 

The  American  ferry  across  the  Yaqui 

In  the  valley  of  the  Yaqui  .... 

"  They  built  a  wooden  tower"    . 

View  of  Santiago  across  the  Yaqui 

The  site  of  the  tower  of  Santo  Tomas 

The  bed  of  the  river  Yaqui 

Loading  a  bull  cart     ..... 

/  riew  of  the  Plaza  and  church  at  Puerto  Plata 


i99 
203 
206 

20p 

213 
214. 
2l6 
21 8 
220 
223 
22J 
230 
231 
232 

235 
236 
21-2 
244 
249 
252 

254 

257 
262 

264 

26j 

268 

2J0 

273 

275 

279 
284. 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Girl  on  bullock's  back,  Puerto  Plata     . 

The  typical  beast  of  burden 

Washerwomen  of  Haiti       .... 

Coaling  station,  Samaria  Bay 

Scene  of  the  first  encounter  zvith  the  Indians 

A  typical  washerwoman  of  Samana    . 

The  approach  to  Sanchez    . 

A  relic  from  Old  Vega        .         .         .         . 

In  the  Savannas  of  Santo  Domingo     . 

The  manager's  house  at  Sanchez 

View  of  the  Royal  Plain      .... 

Santo  Cerro  Church  and  the  aged  tree 

The  shrine  of  the  Virgin  worshiped  in  the  time 

of  Columbus  ..... 
A  view  of  Santo  Cerro  .... 
A  long  the  river  Yuna  .... 

Window  in  Rosario  Chapel,  Santo  Domingo 
Ruins  of  the  church  built  by  bequest  of  Columbus 
Rums  of  Fort  Concepcion     . 
A  precious  relic  .... 
One  of  the  most  interesting  spots  of  Jacagua 
The  cemetery  at  Santiago    . 
Site  of  the  old  church  at  Jacagua 
Used  by  the  early  Spaniards 
The  whistling  jug 
A  Santo  Domingo  seaport  town  . 
Homenage,  the  oldest  castle  in  A  mcrica 
The  house  of  Columbus 
The  sun-dial  to  be  seen  in  Santo  Domingo 
Columbus  in  chains     .... 
The  cathedral,  western  entrance 


287 
288 
290 
293 
295 

297 
300 
302 

303 
306 

309 
3i3 

3ij 
3i7 
3i$ 
320 
322 
324 
327 
329 

336 
337 
339 
34i 
344 
346 
349 
35i 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Inscription  on  an  old  tombstone    . 
View  of  the  catJicdral  high  altar  and  retable 
The  portal  of  the  Jlfint,  Santo  Domingo 
The  Homcnage    ...... 

Bronze  statue  of  Columbus  before  the  door  of  the 

cathedral  in  Santo  Domingo  city 
The  Columbus  vaults  in  Santo  Domingo  cathedral 
The  Columbus  casket,  end  view    . 
The  Columbus  casket,  front  view 
Facsimile  of  old  baptismal  book  . 
Facsimile  of  inscriptions    .... 
The  tablet  and  the  vault  at  Santo  Domingo 
Arms  of  Puerto  Rico  ..... 
General  Heureaux       ..... 
The  harbor  of  San  Juan  seen  from   the  Casa 

Blanca,  or  home  of  Ponce  de  Leon 
A  sugar  lighter  in  Puerto  Rico  waters 
Native  huts  and  dove  cotes 
A  long  the  river  ..... 
Sentry  box  and  cemetery  gate  at  San  Juan 
The  Casa  Blanca         .... 
The  last  of  him  who  sought  eternal. youth 
Arches  of  San  Francisco  Convent,  Santo  Domingo 

City.         .... 
The  harbor  from  the  fort    . 
Old  fort  at  St.   Thomas 
Buccaneer  cannon,  St.  John's 
The  ladder  .... 

Tozvn  of  Bottom,  Island  of  Saba 
A  tropical  sunrise 
Cacao  fruit  .... 


354 

356 

359 
362 

369 
3/3 

375 
376 
378 
379 
38l 
388 

391 

395 

399 
402 

404- 
406 
408 
410 

412 

4i5 
419 
424 
430 
433 

437 
442 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Bread-fruit  ..... 

St.  Patrick's  Rock,  Saba 

The  island  of  St.  Eustatius,  seen  from  St 

Washerwomen  of  Nevis 

Great  trees  of  the  high  zuoods 

Banyan-tree,  Guadeloupe 

The  waterfall  out  of  the  clouds    . 

Volcano  on  St.  Lucia  .... 

Negro  boys  of  Martinique   . 

The  diamond  rock  off  Martinique 

The  pitons  of  St.  Lucia 

Kingstown,  capital  of  St.   Vincent 

Palms  of  the  leeward  coast,  St.   Vincent 

The  ten  little  caribs     .... 

Beach  near  the  Boca,  Trinidad  . 

The  pitch  lake,  Trinidad     . 

Sunset  on  the  Venezuelan  coast    . 

Ploughing  under  the  palms  . 

Washing  clothes  at  Curacao 

The  heart  of  the  cocoa  palm 

Carib   carvings  on  a  rock  in  the  island  o 

Joint's       ..... 
Don  Christopher's  Cove,  where  Columbus 

avels  tvere  zvrecked,  ijoj  . 
The  bay  of  St.  Ann's,  Jamaica    . 


Kitt's 


J  St. 


car- 


443 

447 
449 
452 
458 
460 

4^3 
467 

469 
472 
474 
475 
477 
479 
483 
485 
488 

489 
49° 
495 

505 

5ii 

5H 


In  the  Wake  of  Columbus 


THE    BRIDGE    THAT    SPANNED    THE    WORLD. 


GARDENS  of  Granada 
are  famous  throughout 
Spain,  and  of  them  all, 
perhaps  none  more  fasci- 
nating than  the  Kami  en 
del  Gran  Capitan.  The 
Arabs  called  them  Kar- 
menes,  those  hillside 
vineyards  lying  abreast 
the  sun  of  Spain  and 
Africa,  and  this  particu- 
lar garden  received  its  name  from  having  belonged  to 
the  Great  Captain,  Gonsalvo  de  Cordova.  It  was  given 
him  by  King  Ferdinand  for  his  assistance  at  the  siege 
of  Granada;  this  ancient  vineyard  of  a  luckless  Moor. 

All  these  particulars  were  set  forth  upon  a  tablet  let 
into  the  wall  above  one  of  the  fountains  that  supplied 

l 


SPi.TT.1 


2  IN   THE    WAKE  OF   COLUMBUS. 

water  for  the  household.  Centuries  old,  as  was  the 
dwelling  attached,  yet  it  did  not  present  an  appearance 
of  antiquity,  for  annual  coats  of  whitewash  kept  fresh 
its  thick  stone  walls,  while  the  roofing-tiles  were  rich 
in  reds  and  mellow  tints  of  age-imparted  browns. 

Perhaps  I  may  never  attain  more  nearly  to  an  earthly 
paradise  than  I  did  in  my  residence  in  this  beautiful 
garden ;  and  it  was  by  the  merest  chance  that  I  became 
aware  of  its  existence,  and  possessed  it  during  the  space 
of  a  month.  In  Seville  one  day,  where  I  had  quarters 
in  the  house  of  a  priest,  I  encountered  an  English 
artist  whose  eccentricities  were  a  constant  wonder  to 
the  dwellers  there.  At  the  time  of  our  meeting  he 
was  engaged  in  kicking  his  slippers  from  the  pavement 
of  the  patio  to  the  roof-tiles  of  the  house,  a  feat  which 
he  performed  to  his  own  entire  satisfaction  and  the 
openly- expressed  astonishment  of  his  Spanish  specta- 
tors. As  he  was  going  to  Granada,  it  happened  we 
traveled  together,  and  when  there  he  introduced  me  to 
the  owners  of  the  garden,  who  consented  to  take  us  as 
dwellers  therein  for  whatever  time  we  might  elect  to 
remain.  The  nominal  head  of  the  establishment  was 
Don  Nicolas,  a  small  asthmatic  gentleman  who  did 
business  in  the  city  of  Granada;  the  actual  and  authori- 
tative Presence  was  Dona  Carmen,  his  wife:  tall,  stately, 
magnificent;  but  the  real  ruler,  the  resident  queen  of 
Carmen  del  Capitan,  was  little  Carmencita,  their  joint 
possession  and  pride.  Rosalie,  the  smiling  maid-of-all- 
work,  completed  the  family  circle  which,  from  center 
to  circumference,  was  so  entirely  at  our  service  that  u 
seemed  as  though  it  must  have  been  specially  created 


THE    BRIDGE   THAT    SPANNED    THE    WORLD. 


IN    THE    CONVENT    GARDEN. 


for  us,  and  made  only  to  revolve  in  anticipation  of  our 
needs. 

This,  then,  was  the  garden  in  which  I  had  ensconced 
myself  for  an  attack  upon  the  outposts  of  American 
history. 

I  have  chosen  it  as  vantage  ground,  as  a  base  of 
operations;  for,  in  our  little  journeys  in  and  about  the 
world,  we  all  need  a  starting-point ;  a  place  to  keep  in 
mind  for  retreat,  or  a  deposit  for  our  plundering^.     One 


4  IN  THE   WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

may  wander,  and  gather  things  new  and  old,  but  if  one 
has  no  home  to  return  to  where  he  may  accumulate  the 
products  of  his  toils  and  contemplate  their  values,  what 
good,  then,  his  gatherings  ?  I  felt  almost  as  secure  in 
my  garden  as  the  old  father  of  Boabdil,  who  fought 
Ferdinand  so  gallantly,  must  have  felt  in  his  mountain 
fortress  in  the  Alpujarras;  and,  like  him,  I  made  many 
a  foray  into  the  historic  fields  around  me,  returning 
always  well-laden  with  richest  spoil.  My  companion 
in  these  adventures  was  Jose,  the  gardener,  whose 
duties  permitted  him  a  day  off  whenever  he  liked, 
and  whose  poverty  made  him  gladly  accept  an  oppor- 
tunity for  adding  a  few  dollars  to  his  scant  salary.  He 
knew  all  the  country  round  about  and  its  traditions, 
and,  with  the  help  of  Washington  Irving's  "Conquest," 
which  I  carried  in  my  pocket,  we  visited  and  identified 
all  the  places  of  interest  in  the  Vega. 

As  I  have  said,  I  went  to  Spain  to  study  the  begin- 
nings of  American  history,  and  as  the  central  figure  of 
that  history  is  Christopher  Columbus,  we  shall  visit  all 
the  most  important  places  connected  with  his  life  after 
he  became  interesting  as  the  Personage  with  a  purpose. 
We  shall  take  him  at  the  outset  of  his  career  of  dis- 
covery and  follow  him  to  the  end.  And  in  assuming 
that  Columbus  is  the  hero  of  America's  initial  appear- 
ance upon  the  stage  of  history,  I  do  not  deny  the  great 
Norsemen  anything;  only  that  the  Genoese  made  his 
discovery  known,  while  the  first  visitors  did  not,  and 
through  Columbus  the  way  was  opened  whereby  America 
was  peopled  with  those  who  brought  the  blessings  of 
civilization. 


THE   BRIDGE   THAT   SPANNED   THE   WORLD.  5 

Leaving  this  question  of  honors  to  the  historian,  let 
us  inquire  a  little  into  the  conditions  prevailing  in  Spain 
at  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century,  in  the  last  decade 
of  which  her  star  was  in  the  ascendant.  Following  the 
successive  invasions  of  the  Phoenicians,  the  Carthagi- 
nians, the  Vandals  and  the  Goths,  came  the  Moors,  at 
the  opening  of  the  eighth  century.  The  power  of  the 
Goths  terminated  with  the  fall  of  Roderick,  their  last 
king,  who  was  overwhelmed   beneath   the  Arab    flood 


DONA  CABMEN  AND  CARMKNCITA. 


6  IN   THE   WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

from  Africa.  For  nearly  seven  hundred  years,  the  Moors 
possessed  the  better  part  of  Spain ;  they  built  mosques 
and  palaces,  and  intended  their  descendants  should  own 
this  fair  land  forever.  They  gave  to  Spain  a  distinctive 
people,  as  well  as  Oriental  forms  of  speech  and  of  archi- 
tecture. The  Moorish  invasion  had  been  almost  mirac- 
ulous in  its  wide-spread  conquests ;  but  finally  came  the 
time  when  they,  too,  must  succumb,  and  to  the  prowess 
of  northern  arms.  Down  from  the  mountains  of  the 
North,  from  the  Asturias  and  the  Pyrenees,  swept  the 
Castilian  armies,  wave  after  wave,  until  were  wrested 
from  the  Africans  the  soil  and  cities  they  had  won  with 
so  much  bloodshed,  and  the  conflict  of  centuries  culmi- 
nated in  the  fall  of  Granada,  in  1492.  Toward  the 
close  of  the  fifteenth  century,  the  only  strongholds 
remaining  to  the  Moors  lay  in  Andalusia,  called  by 
the  Spaniards  the  "Land  of  the  most  Sacred  Virgin," 
because  of  its  delightful  climate,  its  fruitful  fields,  and 
its  natural  advantages  as  a  dwelling-place  for  man. 
When  at  last  the  union  of  Isabella  and  Ferdinand  joined 
the  forces  of  Leon  and  Castile,  then  appeared  possible 
the  long- deferred,  long-hoped-for  scheme  of  universal 
conquest,  and  the  ultimate  expulsion  of  the  Moors  from 
their  territory.  The  most  fascinating  episodes  of  that 
final  period  of  warfare  occurred  in  the  Vega  of  Granada, 
and  among  the  hills  surrounding  this  beautiful  plain. 

Standing  conspicuously  upon  every  hill-crest  overlook- 
ing the  Vega  are  the  remains  of  Moorish  watch-towers, 
their  atalajas,  from  which  the  watchful  sentinels  flashed 
blazing  signal-fires  at  the  appearance  of  an  enemy. 
Even  to-day,  they  may  be  seen  in  various  places,   lone 


THE   BRIDGE   THAT   SPANNED   THE   WORLD.  7 

and  solitary  landmarks,  though  useless  now,  around  the 
fruitful  valleys  they  were  built  to  guard.  Centuries  have 
slipped  by  since  the  danger-signals  flamed  from  their 
summit-platforms,  and  they  are  now  fast  going  to  ruin 
and  decay.  One  such  atalaya  rose  above  the  hill  of 
Elvira,  always  visible  from  the  Alhambra  at  sunset, 
black  sentinel  against  the  brilliant  sky.  This  tower  I 
took  as  the  objective  point  of  my  first  foray;  and  one 
May  morning,  guided  by  Jose,  I  left  the  Karmen,  passed 
through  the  beautiful  grove  of  elms  to  the  Alhambra, 
and  thence  down  the  Darro,  through  the  half-sleeping 
city  of  Granada,  seeking  the  distant  hills.  Fain  would 
I  linger  by  the  way  to  describe  the  beauties  of  the 
palace  we  left  behind,  and  the  elm-grove  in  which  I 
have  heard  the  nightingales  singing  at  midnight,  as 
well  as  the  golden-sanded  Darro,  down  the  right  bank 
of  which  we  strolled.  It  was  delightfully  cool  in  the 
grove,  where  the  birds  were  twittering  preparatory  to 
their  matin  music,  and  until  we  were  well  out  upon  the 
plain  beyond  Granada,  we  did  not  feel  the  heat  of  the 
sun.  Three  hours  later  we  were  reclining  at  the  foot  of 
the  tower,  which  is  locally  known  as  the  Atalaya  of 
Arbolote,  whence  we  had  a  view  outspread  that  well 
rewarded  the  long  and  somewhat  dusty  walk.  Nearly 
all  the  Vega  lay  before  us.  At  our  feet  were  the 
remains  of  old  Roman  Illora,  dating  from  a  period  near 
the  birth  of  Christ;  beyond,  Granada,  dark  in  the  val- 
ley, with  the  Hill  of  the  Sun  crowned  by  the  Alhambra, 
above  it ;  and  behind,  the  shining  crests  of  the  Sierra 
Nevada,  broadly  breasting  the  sun ; 

"  Like  silver  shields  new  burnished  for  display." 


8 


IN   THE   WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 


As  in  the  time  of  Columbus,  so  now:  smiling  plain, 
dark  masses  of  olive-trees,  silver  threads  of  streams 
coursing-  emerald  meadows,  frowning  battlements  cap- 
ping the  Alhambra  hills,  and  glistening  snow-peaks 
lying  against  the  sky.  Columbus  saw  all  this,  and, 
though  he  has  left  no  description  of  it,  its  beauty 
impressed  him,  for  in  his  voyagings  through  the  island- 
dotted  seas- 
on which  we 
shall  follow 
him — he  con- 
stantly recurs 
to  the  charms 
of  Andalusia. 
But  Gran- 
ada and  the 
Alhambra  we 
have  left  be- 
Before  us  lies  a  city  seldom  visited  by  strangers ; 
a  city  sleeping  in  the  memories  of  the  past,  and  with  no 
tie  connecting  it  with  the  present.  Four  centuries  agone 
—  and  three  years  more  —  the  armies  of  Isabella  and 
Ferdinand  had  advanced  their  line  of  conquest  to  the 
mountain  wall  around  the  Vega.  One  after  another 
the  Moorish  towns  and  cities  had  fallen  before  the 
implacable  Ferdinand :  Zahara,  Antequera,  Alhama, 
Loxa,  Illora,  Moclin;  until,  in  1490,  Granada  stood 
alone;  isolate,  crippled,  yet-proudly  defiant. 

In  April,  1491,  the  Spanish  army,  horse  and  foot,  fifty 
thousand  strong,  poured  over  the  hills  and  into  the 
Vega,  intrenching  themselves  upon  the  site  of  Santa  Fe, 


THE   ATALAYA    OF    ARBOLOTE. 


hind. 


THE   BRIDGE   THAT   SPANNED   THE   WORLD. 


9 


as  a  situation  strategically  important,  in  the  center  of 
the  plain. 

Granada  lay  full  in  sight  before  them.  Where  to-day 
rise  the  towers  of  its  great  cathedral,  the  minaret  of  a 
Moslem  mosque  towered  skyward,  and  from  its  summit 
the  muezzin  called  the  faithful  to  prayers:  "Allah  il 
Allah!  Great  God!  great  God!  Come  to  prayer !  come 
to  prayer!  It  is  better  to  pray  than  to  sleep!"  So 
near  were  the  soldiers  of  Ferdinand  to  the  object  of 
their  desires,  that  they  could  almost  hear  the  summon- 
ing cry  of  the  muezzin. 

Upon  the  site  of  the  fortified  camp,  which  was  first  of 
tents,  then  huts  of  wood  and  stone,  was  founded,  in  the 
year  1492,  the 

town  of  Santa     .  -.,  .7^77  -"■- -*rw  ^____^  *A 

Fe,  or  the  City 

of     the    Holy 

Faith.    It  may 

now  be  seen  as 

I   saw  it   that 

hot    day     in 

May,   scarcely 

lifting       itself 

above  and    beyond   broad  fields  of  barley,  wheat  and 

alfalfa.     A  semi-somnolent  city  is  Santa  Fe" ;  completely 

walled  about,  with  most  picturesque  gates  facing  the 

cardinal  points.     If  the  term  "dead-and-alive  "  may  be 

applied  to  any  place,  it  certainly  may  be  to  this.     Yet 

its  history  is  interesting,  and  no  student  of  the  conquest 

of  Granada  can  afford  to  pass  it  by  without  at  least  a 

peep  into  its  past. 


IKslfe. 


DISTANT    VIEW   OF   THE    ALHAMBRA. 


10  IN   THE   WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

Although  we  are  dealing  with  Columbus,  yet  we  may 
not  neglect  the  historical  accessories  that  make  his  story 
worth  the  telling.  A  hundred  books,  at  least,  will  give 
us  the  tale  of  his  life  and  adventures,  but  they  only  re- 
peat what  is  already  familiar;  and  since  a  multitude  of 
writers  are  even  now  on  the  search,  hunting  the  victim 
from  the  cradle  to  the  grave,  as  it  were,  we  ourselves 
will  not  join  in,  but  will  lie  quietly  in  ambush;  per- 
chance we  may  gain  glimpses  of  the  great  man,  una- 
wares. Hence  I  will  claim  the  privilege  of  digressing 
a  while,  merely  to  relate  one  of  those  exciting  encount- 
ers that  took  place  while  the  army  was  encamped  at 
Santa  Fe,  and  which,  while  it  enlivened  the  monotony 
of  camp  life,  kept  up  the  spirits  of  the  men. 

Among  the  fiercest  of  the  caballeros  in  command  un- 
der the  Spanish  king,  as  the  arcny  lay  before  Granada, 
was,  the  historians  tell  us,  Hernando  del  Pulgar.  Cast- 
ing about,  one  day,  for  an  opportunity  to  distinguish 
himself,  he  espied  the  city  gate  of  Granada  but  negli- 
gently guarded.  Dashing  in,  he  somehow  evaded  the 
Moorish  sentinels,  and  reached  to  the  great  mosque  in 
the  center  of  the  city.  Losing  not  a  moment,  he  rode 
his  horse  against  the  door,  and  there,  with  his  poniard, 
affixed  a  bit  of  wood  with  Ave  Maria  printed  on  it. 
Then  he  wheeled  about  and  darted  through  the  gateway, 
with  great  clatter  of  hoof  and  clank  of  weapon,  hurling 
cries  of  defiance  at  the  astonished  Moors,  and  escaped 
with  a  whole  skin  to  the  camp. 

The  Moors  at  first  were  puzzled  to  account  for  this 
foray;  but  when  they  finally  found  the  Ave  Maria 
pinned  against  the  great  door  of  the  mosque,  they  were 


THE   BRIDGE   THAT   SPANNED   THE   WORLD. 


11 


beside  themselves  with  rage.  And  the  next  day  an 
immense  Moor,  one  of  the  most  powerful  and  renowned 
of  the  Moslem  warriors,  insolently  paraded  before  the 
Christian  host,  with  the  sacred  emblem  attached  to  the 
tail  of  his  horse,  and  dragging  in  the  dust.     At  the  same 


THE   MARBLE   HEAD   OF   THE    MOOR   AT    SANTA    FE, 


time  he  defied  any  one  of  the  cavaliers  to  meet  him  in 
single  combat  before  the  assembled  armies. 

Now,  Ferdinand  had  forbidden  any  of  his  nobles  to 
engage  in  this  manner  with  the  Moors,  because  their 
cavaliers  were  better  horsemen,  more  skilled  in  the 
feats  of  the  tourney,  and  generally  came  off  victorious, 
thus  greatly  weakening  the  esprit  de  corps.     But  this 


12 


IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 


t-m-ajjV 


insult  to  the  Christian  religion  could  not  be  borne,  and  the 
cavaliers  all  burned  to  avenge  it.  A  fiery  young  Castil- 
ian,  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega,  rushed  before  Isabella,  and 
importuned  her  to  allow  him  to  defend  the  holy  faith 

against  this  pa- 
gan Moor.  Her 
permission  re- 
luctantly grant- 
ed, he  armed 
himself  com- 
pletely and  went 
to  meet  the  Mos- 
lem, who  was 
almost  twice  his 
size,  and  mount- 
ed in  a  superior 
manner.  And 
yet,  notwithstanding  the  apparent  odds  against  him, 
young  Garcilasso  came  out  of  the  terrible  combat  tri- 
umphant. He  killed  the  boastful  Moor,  rescued  the 
emblem,  and  laid  the  head  of  his  adversary  at  the  feet 
of  Isabella. 

The  site  of  this  memorable  encounter,  and  the  spot 
where  Isabella  sat  to  witness  it,  is  marked  by  a  great 
stone  cross,  protected  by  an  artistic  canopy.  Subse- 
quently, a  church  was  erected  in  Santa  Fe,  in  which  to- 
day the  sacristan  can  show  3'ou  a  silver  lamp  presented 
by  Isabella;  but  the  most  striking  thing  about  this 
church  stands  between  its  two  great  towers :  the  marble 
head  of  the  vanquished  Moor,  of  heroic  size,  lies  there 
placidly,  and  above  him  rises  the  lance  which  was  used 


CITY   GATE   OF    SANTA    FE. 


THE   BRIDGE   THAT   SPANNED   THE    WORLD. 


15 


to  slay  him,  flanked  with  palm  leaves,  across  which  is 
the  emblem  of  the  faith.  Thus,  everywhere  in  Spain, 
are  we  reminded  of  the  days  of  chivalry  and  their 
romances,  and  the  scenes  of  the  distant  past  brought 
vividly  before  us. 

At  the  door  of  Isabella's  silken  tent  another  hero 
stands  awaiting  royal  favor.  He  asks  no  boon  of  her, 
but  only  aid  to  carry  out  his  schemes  of  conquest;  he 
craves  permission,  like  Garcilasso,  to  enter  the  lists 
against  the  infidel.  The  Moors  are  conquered,  but 
mayhap  there  are  other  Pagans,  in  the  world  unknown 
beyond  the  sea. 

He,   Columbus,   with  his  sovereigns'  aid,  and  by  the 


SAXTA    FK    ACROSS   THE    VEGA. 


grace  of  God,   would  go  forth  single-handed  to  battle 
for  the  Crown. 

It  is  the  month  of  January,  1492.  Briefly,  the  story 
of  Granada's  downfall  may  be  told.  That  month  Gra- 
nada capitulated,  and  the  last  stronghold  of  the  Moors 
in  Europe  passed  from  them  forever.  The  year  that 
saw  the  star  of  Spain  in  the  ascendant,  was  the  birth- 


16  IN   THE   WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

year  also  of  the  history  of  civilization  in  America.  The 
two  great  events  are  coeval,  for,  as  the  star  of  the 
Orient  sank  toward  Africa,  the  star  of  the  Occident 
rose  upon  the  horizon.  And  this  era  of  exploration 
and  discovery  was  to  be  opened  through  the  genius  of 
an  obscure,  almost  unknown  individual,  waiting  hum- 
bly his  sovereigns'  pleasure  in  their  camp  at  Santa  Fe. 
Spain's  victories  hitherto  had  been  on  land;  for  cent- 
uries she  had  been  engaged  in  wresting  from  the  in- 
fidel her  own  lost  territory,  foot  by  foot,  city  by  city, 
until  at  last  the  great  work  was  accomplished.  Now, 
before  their  wearied  soldiers  had  recovered  breath, 
while  their  arms  were  yet  tired  with  wielding  the  sword, 
and  the  blood  of  the  slain  was  still  fresh  upon  their 
weapons,  the  Spanish  rulers  were  again  importuned  by 
that  Genoese  adventurer.  He  had  gone  away  at  last, 
disheartened,  but  had  returned  again  at  the  solicitations 
of  the  queen's  old  confessor  and  at  the  instance  of  Isa- 
bella herself.  He  had  returned  as  persistent,  as  calmly 
confident  of  ultimate  aid  from  some  quarter,  as  before. 
He  abated  no  jot  or  particle  of  his  ridiculous  demands: 
he  wanted  ships  and  caravels,  sailors,  provisions,  muni- 
tions, articles  for  barter.  He  demanded  that  he  be 
made  Admiral  of  the  Ocean  Sea;  Viceroy  over  the  re- 
gions discovered ;  the  privileges  of  the  aristocracy,  and 
one  tenth  the  revenue  of  that  undiscovered  country;  in 
truth,  there  seemed  no  limit  to  his  demands.  And  this 
from  an  unknown  man  whose  only  claims  were  to  pos- 
sessions yet  to  be  possessed:  nothing  more  or  less  than 
veritable  "Castles  in  Spain."  Perhaps,  if  the  serious 
queen  ever  did  take  a  humorous  view  of  a  situation,  she 


THE   BRIDGE   THAT   SPANNED   THE   WORLD.         17 

may  have  seen  the  funny  side  of  this  one,  and  have 
yielded  at  last  out  of  sheer  weariness. 

At  first,  however,  notwithstanding  the  urgent  solici- 
tations of  her  respected  confessor,  she  could  not  bring 
herself  to  accept  the  terms  of  Columbus,  and  he  de- 
parted again,  this  time  fully  resolved  to  abandon  the 
country.  This,  however,  he  was  not  allowed  to  do,  for 
he  had  not  accomplished  more  than  two  leagues  of  his 
journey  back  to  the  Convent  of  La  Rabida,  before  he 
was  overtakened  by  a  courier  from  Isabella  promising 
acquiescence  to  his  demands. 

Whether  or  not  the  queen  did  this  of  her  own  voli- 
tion, whether  her  treasurer  offered  to  find  the  requisite 
money  for  the  outlay,  or  whether  she  proffered  the 
pledge  of  her  jewels,  are  matters  for  the  historians  to 
settle.  The  chances  are,  that  Isabel  did  not  offer  to 
pledge  her  jewels,  since  they  were,  probably,  already 
pledged  to  aid  in  furnishing  the  sinews  of  war  for  the 
siege  of  Granada.  But  let  it  suffice  that  she  promised 
assistance,  and,  once  embarked  in  the  enterprise,  gave 
the  future  admiral  both  pecuniary  and  moral  support. 
All  the  more  creditable  is  this  to  Isabella,  since  it  was 
done  at  a  time  when  the  royal  treasury  had  been  com- 
pletely exhausted  by  the  drafts  upon  it  for  the  Moorish 
wars,  and  when  she  might  have  been  supposed  to  be 
already  sated  with  the  glory  of  conquest  and  not  anxious 
for  further  exploits. 

The  place  at  which  the  royal  courier  overtook  Colum- 
bus has  been  preserved  in  tradition  ever  since,  and  is 
pointed  out  to-day  with  unerring  finger.  He  had  reached 
a   river  flowing  through  the  Vega,   spanned   then,   as 


18 


IN   THE   WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 


Lte&lgSrfi^ 


now,  by  the  "  Bridge  of  Pines. "  It  is  locally  known  as 
Pinos  Puente,  and  was  the  object  of  another  little  jour- 
ney by  Jose  and  myself,  after  we  had  visited,  and  I  had 
photographed,  Santa  Fe.  We  had  noted  it  from  our 
atalaya  tower,   and   one    day,   through    seas   of   scarlet 

and  crimson 
poppies,  had 
descended  to 
the  valley. 

Although 
the  discussion 
was  carried  on 
in  Santa  Fe, 
still  this  spot 
may  be  looked 
upon  as  that  at 
which  the  ca- 
reer of  Colum- 
b  u  s  really 
began;  the  turn  of  the  tide  in  his  fortunes,  and  the 
turning-point  in  his  journey.  For  this  reason,  and  in 
view  of  the  far-reaching  consequences  of  this  departure, 
I  have  taken  the  liberty  of  calling  this  Pinos  Pucnte  the 
"  Bridge  that  Spanned  the  World. "  It  is  a  structure  of 
stone  and  masonry,  creditable  to  its  designers,  with  a 
gateway  and  a  turret,  spanning  the  stream  with  two 
high  arches,  and  is  nearly  always  a  scene  of  busy  life. 
I  rambled  with  my  guide  along  the  banks,  and  climbed 
the  hill  above,  where  are  the  remains  of  an  ancient 
Moorish  fort,  finally  resting  at  a  meson,  where  the  sim- 
ple folk  cheerfully  served  us  with  the  best  they  had. 


ENTRANCE    TO    THE    BRIDGE   OF   PINES. 


THE   BRIDGE   THAT   SPANNED    THE    WORLD. 


21 


Another  trip,  on  another  day,  was  to  Moclin,  on  the 
outer  verge  of  the  Vega,  where  the  Moorish  fortifica- 
tions are  exactly  as  left  after  being  battered  to  pieces 
by  the  cannon  of  King  Ferdinand,  the  year  previous  to 
the  fall  of  Granada.  Amongst  the  wood- carvings  around 
the  sillo'ia,  or  choir-stalls,  of  Toledo  cathedral,  is  one 
depicting  the  taking  of  Moclin ;  all  the  incidents  of  the 
siege  of  Granada,  in  fact,  are  there  illustrated. 

Again,  we  visited  successively  Loxa,  Illora  and  Zubia, 
at  which  last  place  Isabella  narrowly  escaped  capture 
by  the  Moors,  and  where  a  group  of  great  stone  crosses 
marks  a  religious  shrine.  Granada  and  its  environs  yet 
present  a  field 
for  exploita- 
tion to  the 
enthusiastic 
student  of  his- 
tory, whether 
he  be  specially 
interested  in 
the  closing 
scenes  of 
Moorish  domi- 
nation,  the 
lives  of  Ferdi- 
nand and  Isabella,  or  the  dawn  of  discovery  in  America. 
Around  Columbus,  however,  cluster  the  associations  of 
Santa  Fe  and  the  Bridge  of  Pines,  at  the  opening  of  this 
drama  of  the  siege  of  Granada;  thence,  he  followed  the 
court  as  the  army  advanced  to  take  possession  of  the 
city,  and  tradition  relates,  with  an  air  of  authenticity, 


THE    CROSSES   OF    ZUBIA. 


•22 


IN   THE    WAKE    OF   COLUMBUS. 


that  in  the  Alhambra  itself  Columbus  was  a  visitor 
a  while,  pacing  gloomily  its  columned  corridors  while 
the  issue  of  his  voyage  was  pending.  Here,  it  is  re- 
lated, took  place  a  memorable  interview  between  the 
high  contracting  parties,  in  the  beautiful  "  Hall  of  Jus- 
tice," the  Sola  del  Tribunal,  which  bounds  one  side  of 
the  famous  ''Court  of  Lions,"  and  is  a  dream  of  beauty. 
Here,  where  the  swart  Moors  reclined  and  dreamed  away 
the  noontide  hours,  and  the  stern  caliphs  sat,  in  days 
departed,  the  queen  received  Columbus. 

During  a  month  of  most  delightful  days,  I  myself 
dwelt  within  the  Alhambra  walls,  sallying  forth  upon 
excursions,  as  narrated ;  wandering  through  the  palace 
by  daylight  and  by  moonlight,  and  weaving  about  the 
departed  Moors,  the  Christian  conquerors  and  the  great 
Navigator,  the  tissue  of  a  fabric  I  have  herein  attempted 
to  unfold. 


A  CORNER  OF  MY  GARDEN  VT  GRANADA. 


II. 


AT    THE    NEW    WORLD  S    PORTAL. 


A 


S  we  have  seen,  Colum- 


MOORISH   ARCH    AT    PALOS. 


success,  departed  for  Palos, 
invested  with  all  the  rights 
and  privileges  he  for  years 
had  been  so  anxious  to  obtain. 
But  twro  months  after  the 
surrender  of  Boabdil  to  Fer- 
dinand and  Isabella,  the  same  hands  that  had  received 
the  emblems  of  their  triumph  over  the  Moors  affixed 
the  royal  sign-manual  to  a  paper  confirming  Colum- 
bus in  titles  in  a  yet  undiscovered  country  beyond 
the  unknown  sea.  A  commemorative  chapel  on  the 
bank  of  the  Xenil  marks  the  spot  made  famous  by  the 
surrender  of  the  Moor;  in  the  royal  chapel  attached  to 
the  cathedral  of  Granada  the  alabaster  tombs  of  the 
king  and  queen  are  sacred  shrines,  to  which  pilgrims  by 
thousands  annually  wend  their  way;  but  no  monument 
rises  above  the  spot  wThere  the  great  Navigator  en- 
gaged to  barter  a  world  for  prospective  emolument  and 
titular  honors. 

23 


24  IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

We  know  with  what  tenacity  he  clung  to  the  scheme 
he  had  formulated  for  the  enrichment  and  ennobling  of 
himself  and  his  family,  preferring  to  abandon  the  coun- 
try rather  than  to  abate  one  iota  of  his  project.  And  it 
was  with  doubtful  pace  that  he  followed  the  messenger 
from  Isabella  who  had  overtaken  him  at  the  Bridge  of 
Pines,  with  the  promise  of  her  consent. 

But  at  last  he  was  on  his  way  to  Palos,  triumphant. 
And  while  he  is  pursuing  his  way  toward  the  coast,  let 
us  briefly  review  his  history  hitherto. 

He  was  born  in  Genoa,  the  historians  tell  us,  in  the 
year  1435 — this  may  not  be  the  exact  date;  and  re- 
garding his  youth  and  early  manhood  there  is  the  same 
obscurity;  but  about  the  year  1470,  we  find  him  resid- 
ing in  Portugal,  the  birthplace  of  his  wife,  and  some- 
what later  engaged  in  correspondence  with  Toscanelli. 
According  to  his  son's  statement,  in  1477  he  "  navigated 
one  hundred  leagues  beyond  Thule;  "  but  in  1482  he  is 
in  the  South  of  Spain,  having  vainly  endeavored  to 
enlist  the  king  of  Portugal  in  his  plans,  and  is  sent  to 
Isabella  by  the  Duke  of  Medina  Celi,  at  the  court  in 
Cordova.  He  follows  the  court  to  Salamanca  in  i486, 
and  there"  has  audience  with  the  queen.  In  1487  he  is 
before  the  Council  in  the  Dominican  Convent ;  he  returns 
to  Cordova  the  same  year  in  the  train  of  Isabella,  whence 
he  is  summoned  to  the  military  camp  at  Malaga.  The 
year  1489  finds  him  before  the  walls  of  Baza,  where  he 
witnessed  the  surrender  of  the  Moors  under  Boabdil  the 
Elder,  and  doubtless  conversed  with  the  two  monks 
who  there  came  to  the  queen  from  Jerusalem.  1490 
sees   him    in    Seville   and   Cordova,  whence   he  finally 


AT   THE   NEW    WORLD'S    PORTAL. 


25 


departs  in  disgust  for  the  port  of  Huelva,  on  his  way 
stopping  at  the  Convent  of  La  Rabida,  where  he  attracts 
the  attention  of  the  prior,    and  subsequently  has  the 


THE    MOSQUE   OF   A    THOUSAND    COLUMNS    AT    CORDOVA. 


famous  conference  with  the  friar,  the  village  doctor  of 
Palos,  and  Martin  Alonzo  Pinzon  of  Moguer. 

This  conference  in  the  convent  took  place  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  year  1491 ;  as  the  result,  a  messenger  was 
dispatched  to  Isabella,  then  in  camp  at  Santa  Fe,  who 
returned  after  fourteen  days  with  royal  orders  for  the 
prior  to  go  to  Granada;  he  departs  in  haste,  and  eventu- 
ally returns  with  the  queen's  command  for  Columbus  to 
appear  before  the  court,  and  with  the  necessary  money 
for  the  trip. 


26  IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

Columbus  arrives  at  Santa  Fe  the  first  week  in  Janu- 
ary, 1492,  in  good  time  (as  we  have  seen)  to  witness  the 
surrender  of  Granada.  He  has  audience  with  his  sover- 
eigns, but  cannot  agree  upon  terms,  so  prepares  to 
depart  from  Spain.  He  is  overtaken  by  the  queen's 
courier  at  the  Bridge  of  Pines,  returns,  and  is  finally 
made  happy  with  the  royal  consent. 

The  "  Capitulation  "  for  conquest  and  exploration  is 
signed  April  17,  1492,  and  the  twelfth  of  May  he  sets 
out  for  Palos.  Ten  days  later  —  the  twenty-third  — 
the  royal  command  for  the  people  of  Palos  to  furnish 
men  for  the  voyage  is  read  in  the  church  of  St.  George, 
and  the  Pinzon  family  come  to  his  assistance.  Prepara- 
tions are  hurried  forward,  and  by  the  first  of  August 
the  vessels  drop  down  the  Rio  Tinto  to  the  Domingo 
Rubio,  where  the  final  departure  is  taken  at  the  Con- 
vent of  La  Rabida.  This  much  for  a  chronological 
statement  of  events.  "We  will  now  retrace  our  steps, 
and  visit  in  person  the  scenes  of  the  great  Discoverer's 
weary  wanderings  and  his  final  gladsome  trip  through 
Andalusia. 

Memorials  of  Columbus  are  scattered  throughout 
Spain,  to-day;  in  Madrid,  the  royal  armory  contains  his 
armor,  the  naval  museum  one  of  his  charts ;  at  Yalla- 
dolid,  in  1506,  he  died,  and  the  house  is  still  pointed 
out  in  which  he  drew  his  last  breath ;  the  convent,  also, 
in  which  his  remains  were  first  deposited. 

But  though  we  may  trace  the  wanderings  of  our  hero 
over  a  great  portion  of  Spain,  it  is  in  the  South  that 
the  most  interesting  events  occurred.  Vastly  rich  is 
Seville,  the  queen  city  of  the  Guadalquivir,  in  Columbian 


AT   THE   NEW    WORLD'S    PORTAL. 


27 


memories;  for  here  we  find  that  valuable  library,  the 
Colombina,  bequeathed  the  city  by  his  son  Fernando, 
containing  twenty  thousand  volumes,  among  them  some 
that  once  pertained  to  the  great  man  himself;  one  with 
marginal  notes  by  his  own  hand,  and  one  of  his  charts. 
Those  very  islands  of  the  Bahamas,  which  I  myself 
have  seen,   dim  and  shadowy,  and  shining  in  the  sun, 


-\   <.iir«  -?»\. 


CHURCH   OF    ST.    GEORGE,   PALOS. 


are  here  outlined  by  the  great  Discoverer  himself,  upon 
paper  discolored  and  stained  by  sea-salt,  as  though  it 
had  accompanied  him  on  all  his  voyages. 

That,  however,  which  oftenest  drew  me  and  longest 
held  me  was  the  marble  slab  in  the  pavement  of  the 
great  cathedral,  that  formerly  covered  the  remains  of 
Columbus,  and  now  marks  the  resting-place  of  his  son 
Fernando,  with  its  world-famous  inscription :  A  Castilla 


28  IN   THE   WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

y  d  Leon,  Mundo  Nuevo  dio  Colon;  "To  Castile  and  to 
Leon,  a  New  World  gave  Columbus."  Thus,  although 
the  remains  of  Columbus  himself  are  now  in  the  New 
World,  many  glorious  memorials  of  him  are  to  be  seen 
in  Spain,  and  mainly  in  Seville. 

In  the  Lonja,  containing  the  royal  archives  of  the 
Indies,  in  the  city  of  Seville,  is  a  mass  of  material  per- 
taining to  the  conquest  of  the  West  Indies  and  Mexico 
that  has  never  been  exploited.  Inaccessible  to  the 
ordinary  tourist,  great  bundles  and  packages  of  letters 
and  documents  lie  securely  intrenched  behind  glass 
doors.  But  affixed  against  the  walls,  at  intervals,  are 
certain  letters  that  bear  their  history  on  their  faces; 
they  are  open  and  can  be  read  by  every  passer-by. 
They  are  well-nigh  priceless;  unique,  at  all  events,  for 
most  of  them  are  from  the  great  conquistadorcs  them- 
selves. The  first  of  these,  in  point  of  age,  is  one  from 
Magellanes,  dated  at  Seville,  October  24,  15 18. 

Another,  date  October  12,  15 19,  is  from  Diego  Velas- 
quez, written  from  La  Isla  Fernandina  (Cuba),  giving 
notice  of  the  disobedience  of  Cortez,  who  had  taken 
possession  of  the  ships  and  armament  Velasquez  himself 
had  collected,  and  sailed  away  to  what  (as  we  now 
know)  resulted  in  the  conquest  of  Mexico. 

Less  than  three  years  later,  a  letter  is  written  by  the 
indomitable  Cortez  himself  to  Charles  V.,  announcing 
his  great  discoveries  and  acquisitions.  It  was  written 
from  Coyoacan  (near  the  city  of  Mexico)  May  15,  1522; 
one  of  those  veritable  Cartas  de  Cortes  that  have  proved 
so  valuable  to  historians. 

Bearing  date  December   13,    1520,   is  a   letter  from 


AT    THE   NEW    WORLD'S   PORTAL.  29 

Diego  Colon,  son  of  Columbus,  then  in  Santo  Domingo 
as  viceroy. 

Another,  the  same  year,  addressed  to  the  king, 
Charles  I.  (Charles  V.  of  Germany),  is  from  that  fiery- 
hearted  monk,  Bartholomew  de  las  Casas.  Long  before 
that  letter  was  written,  had  the  wrongs  of  the  down- 
trodden Indians  begun  to  cry  for  redress,  through  the 
good  Bishop  of  Chiapas. 

Next  in  sequence  comes  a  letter  from  Juan  Ponce  de 
Leon,  "Puerto  Rico,  February  10,  1521."  He  had 
then,  doubtless,  given  up  his  search  for  the  "Fountain 
of  Youth,"  and  was  preparing  for  that  last  venture  in 
which  he  lost  his  life.  A  confirmation  of  the  statement 
by  historians,  that  Francisco  Pizarro,  the  conqueror  of 
Peru,  could  not  write  his  name,  is  found  here ;  for  the 
letter  purporting  to  be  his  bears  his  sign-mark  only. 

With  date  1526,  there  is  a  royal  $cdula  of  Charles  I.  ; 
and  another  from  the  same  king  to  Don  Louis  Colon, 
in  1537;  another,  by  Phillip  II.,  in  1560. 

A  letter  written  in  July,  1539,  from  Hernando  de 
Soto,  touches  Americans,  surely,  for  it  comes  from  the 
Puerto  del  Espiritu  Santo,  coast  of  Florida;  Tampa 
Bay,  it  is  called  now;  and  De  Soto  was  then  disembark- 
ing his  forces,  preparatory  to  that  terrible  march  through 
the  Floridian  wilderness  that  ended  at  the  Mississippi, 
and  brought  him  to  his  grave. 

In  1556,  that  stout  soldier  and  truthful  historian, 
Bernal  Diaz  del  Castillo,  who  fought  all  through  the 
Mexican  wars  under  Cortez,  writes  a  letter  to  his  sover- 
eign. He  was  then  governor  of  Guatemala,  and  his 
letter  comes  thence:    "Guatemala,  \o  de  Mayo,  1556." 


30  IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

In  these  documents  we  have  a  history  epitomized,  and 
romance  condensed,  with  suggestions  enough  to  keep  an 
elaborator  busy  for  a  lifetime. 

But  one  more  name,  that  of  Columbus,  is  necessary  to 
bring  before  us  the  conquest  and  discoveries  of  that 
period  so  rich  in  barbaric  treasure,  so  red  with  Indian 
blood  misspilt : 

"  No  hay  olla  sin  tocino, 

Ni  sermon  sin  Agustino." 

"No  olla  without  its  pork,  no  sermon  without  its 
saint,"  says  the  Spanish  proverb.  The  saint  in  my  ser- 
mon, these  days,  when  the  quadri-centennial  lends  an 
interest  to  everything  American  and  Columbian,  is 
Saint  Colon ;  and  it  was  to  obtain  information  regarding 
his  voyages,  that  I  visited  the  Lonja  and  Columbian 
Library  at  Seville,  and  later  the  port  of  Palos  and 
Convent  of  La  Rabida. 

At  Seville,  I  dwelt  in  the  house  of  a  cleric,  and  my 
friend  gave  me  a  letter  of  introduction  to  the  aira  of 
Moguer,  the  town  nearest  to  Palos.  It  was  a  bright 
morning  in  April  when  I  left  the  city  for  a  trip  to  Palos, 
and  the  valley  of  the  Guadalquivir  was  bright  in  green- 
est fields  of  grain  and  of  olive  orchards.  Seville  is,  in 
truth,  of  queenly  aspect,  sitting  in  the  midst  of  the  fer- 
tile plain,  her  towering  Giralda  rising  far  above  the  out- 
line of  distant  hills.  For  two  thirds  the  distance  the 
railroad  runs  through  a  fertile  and  highly-cidtivated 
plain,  but  the  rest  was  mainly  barren,  though  covered 
with  sheets    and   beds   of   purple   flowers  in   beautiful 


AT   THE    NEW    WORLD'S    PORTAL. 


31 


bloom.  We  passed  the  ruins  of  a  Roman  fortification 
of  times  most  ancient,  and  then  crossed  a  river  flowing 
over  iron-colored  rocks,  most  curiously  worn.  The  char- 
acter of  the  soil  was  shown  in  its  color,  which  was  yel- 
low and  deep  red ;  noting  which  I  inferred,  and  rightly, 
that  we  had  seen  at  last  the  historic    Rio  Tinto  —  the 


SEVILLE,   WITH   THE   TOWEK   OF    GOLD    IN   THE    FOREGROUND. 

Wine-colored  River,  from  which  Columbus  sailed  four 
hundred  years  ago. 

Just  sixty  years  before  me,  in  the  spring  of  1828,  a 
man  more  famous  than  I  traversed  this  same  route,  and 
with  the  same  intent:  gentle  and  genial  Washington 
Irving.  But  there  was  no  railroad  in  those  days,  and 
he  was  obliged  to  make  the  journey  on  horseback,  tak- 
ing as  many  days,  perhaps,  as  I  did  hours;  but  enjoying 
it,  every  mile. 


/ 


32  IN   THE   WAKE    OF   COLUMBUS. 

Leaving  the  railway  at  the  station  of  San  Juan  del 
Puerto,  I  took  the  diligcncia,  an  old  carriage,  for  the 
town  of  Moguer,  a  league  distant  on  a  hill,  where  I 
found,  contrary  to  my  expectations,  good  accommoda- 
tions: a  foiida,  or  house  of  entertainment,  with  clean 
beds  and  an  excellent  table.  I  was  soon  served  with  a 
good  breakfast,  and  "mine  host "  took  quite  a  fancy  to 
me ;  insisting  on  taking  me  to  the  places  of  interest,  and 
telling  me  all  the  local  news. 

But  he  was  lamentably  ignorant  respecting  things 
Columbian,  though  intelligent  and  inquisitive.  When  I 
inquired  about  the  scenes  of  interest  to  one  studying 
Columbus,  he  excused  himself,  saying  he  was  from 
another  province,  and  not  posted  regarding  the  affairs 
of  Palos. 

"  But  this  man,  Columbus,  when  did  he  sail,  Senor  ? 
and  are  you  sure  he  sailed  from  Palos  ?  No  ship  of  any 
size  has  left  there  this  many  a  year;  the  village,  even, 
is  half  a  mile  from  the  river. 

"But  I'll  find  thee  a  boy  to  act  as  a  guide  to  Palos; 
also  a  burro.  It  makes  me  impatient  to  have  such  a 
man  about  me." 

The  boy  he  secured  must  have  been  the  surliest  speci- 
men in  Spain;  but  the  poor  little  fellow  had  lost  an  arm 
early  in  life,  and  I  suppose  that  must  have  soured  him; 
at  any  rate,  he  probably  had  a  hard  time  of  it  in  his 
struggle  for  bread. 

He  led  up  a  donkey,  hooked  my  valise  on  to  his  arm- 
stump,  seized  the  rope  attached  to  the  donkey's  nose, 
and  then  strode  ahead  without  a  glance  at  me.  Don 
Pedro  sent  an  emphatic  Spanish  word  flying  after  him, 


AT   THE   NEW    WORLD'S    PORTAL.  33 

that  halted  him  instanter ;  at  least  long  enough  to  allow 
me  to  scramble  upon  the  burro's  back ;  then  he  marched 
on  again,  pursued  by  the  maledictions  of  my  friend. 
"  What  a  beast  of  a  boy,  to  be  sure;  and  to  think  that 
I,  Pedro  Val  Verde,  a  respected  householder  of  Moguer, 
should  have  been  the  means  of  putting  a  distinguished 
American  traveler  in  his  charge  —  one  who  has  come 
all  the  way  from  America,  too,  just  to  see  our  little  port 
of  Palos.  Bieny  Vaya  con  Dios,  Senor  —  God  be  with 
thee.  You  have  a  stick,  let  the  burro  feel  the  force  of 
your  arm." 

Palos  and  Moguer  are  at  least  three  miles  apart.  The 
road  between  them  is  broad  and  smooth,  but  traversed 
by  carts  only  in  the  vintage  season,  when  the  wines  are 
carried  to  the  port  of  Palos.  There  was  no  saddle  on 
the  beast  I  rode,  and  I  sat  astride  an  enormous  pack  of 
old  bags,  using  my  cudgel  as  a  balancing-pole ;  but  was 
frequently  obliged  to  bring  it  down  upon  the  donkey's 
resounding  sides,  at  which,  much  pleased,  apparently, 
he  would  wag  his  ears  and  gently  amble  onward. 

The  boy  was  abstracted,  and  the  donkey  absorbed  in 
meditation,  so  I  gained  little  from  their  companionship ; 
but  after  an  hour  I  sighted  the  hamlet.  Palos,  the 
ancient  port  whence  Columbus  sailed  on  his  first  voyage 
to  America,  to-day  consists  of  a  few  mean  houses,  scat- 
tered along  a  hillside,  and  one  long  straggling  street. 
It  is  nearly  half  a  mile  from  the  river,  but  it  was  a 
port  in  the  time  of  Columbus,  and  is  called  so  now. 
There  may  be  some  eight  hundred  inhabitants,  all  told, 
and  not  one  of  them,  that  I  could  find,  was  aware  that 
the  hamlet  had  a  history  known  to  the  world  beyond  its 


34  IN    THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

limits.  Some  of  them  had  heard  of  Columbus;  some 
remembered  that  it  was  said  he  had  sailed  hence,  once 
upon  a  time,  to  a  country  called  America;  but  no  one 
could  tell  me  anything,  and  I  must  see  the  aira  —  the 
parish  priest- — to  know  more.  After  an  hour  of  wait- 
ing I  found  that  he  knew  no  more  than  the  others,  but 
the  sacristan  of  the  church,  fortunately,  was  also  the 
schoolmaster,  and  took  an  interest  in  my  mission. 

He  took  me  to  the  church  of  St.  George,  the  veritable 
one  in  which  Columbus  read  the  royal  commands  to  the 
terrified  sailors  of  Palos,  and  I  found  it  as  it  doubtless 
stood  then :  a  simple  church  of  stone,  guarding  the  en- 
trance to  the  town.  I  photographed  its  eastern  front, 
and  also  its  rear,  where  there  is  a  Moorish  doorway 
(now  walled  up)  draped  in  vines.  The  interior  of  the 
church  is  very  plain,  the  chief  ornament  being  an  enor- 
mous wooden  image  of  St.  George,  the  patron  saint  of 
the  church,  slaying  a  terrible  dragon.  As  St.  George 
stood  in  a  corner  so  dark  that  I  could  not  obtain  a 
photograph  of  his  cheerful  countenance,  the  sacristan 
and  his  boy  obligingly  trundled  him  out  into  the  sun- 
light, where  he  was  visible. 

Sixty  years  ago,  Washington  Irving  saw  this  same 
saint  in  the  act  of  slaying  this  same  dragon,  and  he  par- 
ticularly mentions  that  both  had  been  recently  repainted, 
and  that  the  nose  of  the  saint  was  as  rosy-hued  as  the 
sunset.  It  is,  even  now,  as  gorgeous  as  ever,  and  the 
nose  almost  bright  enough  to  guide  the  dragon  in  strik- 
ing at  his  tormentor  in  the  dark. 

It  was  with  great  reluctance  that  I  left  the  church 
and  turned  my  face  again  toward  Moguer;  but  the  day 


AT    THE    NEW    WORLD'S    PORTAL.  35 

was  nearly  ended,  there  was  no  accommodation  of  any 
sort  for  a  traveler  at  Palos,  and  the  boy  and  the  burro 
were  anxious  to  be  away.  Don  Pedro  of  the  inn  re- 
ceived me  cordially,  spreading  a  table  with  fruit  of  his 
garden  and  wine  of  his  vineyard,  and  afterward  invited 
me  to  come  forth  and  view  the  town.  He  first  con- 
ducted me  to  the  church,  and  then  to  the  house  of  the 
Pinzon  family,  still  in  possession  of  a  descendant  of 
the  great  Pinzon  who  sailed  with  Columbus.  Over 
the  doorway  is  their  coat-of-arms.  I  was  delighted 
to  learn  that  the  present  representative  of  the  family 
is  prosperous,  and  holds  a  position  in  the  Spanish 
navy. 

It  was  not  my  good  fortune  to  be  entertained,  as  Irv- 
ing was,  by  a  descendant  of  the  great  Pinzon,  though  I 
should  have  valued  that  attention  more  highly  than  any 
other  in  Spain ;  for  it  was  to  the  two  brothers  Pinzon 
that  Columbus  was  indebted  for  success.  When  he 
came  here,  penniless  and  without  authority,  they  were 
prosperous  citizens,  men  of  influence  over  their  neigh- 
bors, and  we  all  know  the  part  they  took  in  that  first 
voyage,  furnishing  money,  men  and  vessels.  Even  the 
royal  proclamation  read  in  the  church  of  St.  George, 
was  of  less  avail  than  their  brave  example.  Badly 
treated,  they  were,  by  Columbus  and  by  Ferdinand,  yet 
posterity  will  not  refuse  them  their  meed  of  honor.  In 
truth,  the  deeds  of  the  Genoese  pale  before  their  steady 
glow  of  sturdy  independence.  The  needy  adventurer 
whom  they  befriended,  and  who  treated  them  so  basely, 
forgetting  their  noble  friendship  after  his  success  was 
won,   has   left  no  direct    descendants;  but   the    sturdy 


36  IN    THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

Pinzon  stock  still  flourishes  in  the  birthplace  of  its 
progenitors. 

Our  next  visit  was  to  the  convent  church  of  Santa 
Clara,  where  Columbus  and  his  sailors  fulfilled  their 
vows  after  their  return  from  the  first  voyage.  You  will 
recall,  perhaps,  that  they  promised  their  saints  that  if 
they  were  saved  from  a  dreadful  storm  that  threatened, 
they  would  spend  their  first  night  ashore  in  prayer. 
And  it  was  in  this  very  church  that  they  performed 
their  vows;  Columbus,  at  least,  kneeling  here  all  night 
on  the  cold  marbles,  and  before  the  altar. 

As  the  church  was  then,  it  is  now:  with  a  magnificent 
altar-piece,  fine  statues  and  rich  paintings.  It  was 
erected  by  the  Puertocarreros,  whose  tombs  and  marble 
effigies  lie  in  niches  on  either  side.  They  were  a  noble 
family;  and  it  was  a  Puertocarrero,  you  will  remember, 
who  was  intrusted  with  the  first  vessel  sent  from  Mexico 
to  Spain,  in  15 19,  bearing  from  New  to  Old  Spain  a 
portion  of  the  rich  treasure  of  Montezuma. 

The  day  following,  returning  to  Palos,  a  sturdy  don- 
key boy  attended  me,  not  the  one-armed  brute  of  the 
day  before,  and  we  made  the  distance  merrily,  halting 
at  the  town  only  for  a  lunch. 

As  the  place  came  into  view,  I  drew  up  my  donkey  on 
the  brow  of  the  hill  and  looked  long  at  the  white-walled 
Palos,  so  silent  before  me,  so  lifeless,  so  sad.  I  need 
not  put  on  paper  the  thoughts  that  possessed  me  as  I 
gazed,  nor  the  pictures  that  arose  before  my  mental 
vision,  for  I  am  an  American,  and  have  a  share  in  that 
common  heritage  left  us  by  Columbus.  Four  hundred 
years  only  have  passed  since  the  great  Genoese  came 


AT   THE   NEW    WORLD'S    PORTAL.  37 

here,  to  this  very  port  of  Palos,  and  sailed  away  with 
its  sailor- citizens  to  the  discovery  of  a  continent,  and 
though  since  then  the  cynosure  of  all  eyes,  little  Palos 
has  slumbered  on,  unmindful  of  its  fame.  One  by  one 
its  prosperous  men  were  gathered  out  of  sight,  one  by 
one  its  houses  fell  to  ruins,  one  by  one  its  fleets  were 


THE    CONVENT    OF   LA    EABIDA. 


depleted  of  its  vessels,  and  to-day  naught  remains  save 
the  memory  of  its  greatness. 

About  three  miles  beyond  Palos,  passing  through 
scenery  unattractive  and  sad,  some  clumps  of  trees 
appear  and  a  hill  rises  against  the  sky.  Then,  slowly 
climbing,  you  bring  the  roofs  and  cupolas  of  a  lone 
white  building  into  view,  which  are  found  to  pertain  to 
a  convent  structure  of  the  olden  style.     It  is  rambling, 


38  IN   THE   WAKE   OF  COLUMBUS. 

yet  compactly  inclosed  within  a  high  wall,  and  is  ex- 
tremely picturesque.  I  was  very  fortunate,  later  on,  in 
securing  a  fine  photograph  of  it,  as  clouds  lay  massed 
beyond,  and  a  flock  of  sheep  slowly  grazed  before  it. 
And  it  was  thus  I  found  it,  this  Convent  of  La  Rabida, 
at  the  gate  of  which  Columbus  halted  to  request  refresh- 
ment for  his  son.  How  he  came  to  such  a  secluded 
place  as  La  Rabida  no  one  has  explained ;  but  he  prob- 
ably made  for  the  coast  of  Spain,  thinking,  perhaps,  to 
obtain  a  vessel  at  Huelva,  then,  as  now,  a  shipping  port 
for  copper  ore  to  foreign  parts.  Indeed,  this  very  spot 
is  the  ancient  Tarshish  of  the  Bible,  and  the  Phoenicians 
came  here  more  than  two  thousand  years  ago:  those 
men  of  Tyre,  who  discovered  a  passage  between  the 
Pillars  of  Hercules.  But  Columbus  came  here,  halted 
at  the  gate  (the  arched  entrance  at  the  right),  and  the 
prior  of  the  convent,  the  good  Marchena,  chanced  to 
see  and  to  enter  into  conversation  with  him.  Struck 
by  his  dignified  appearance,  and  also  by  his  evident 
learning,  the  prior  invited  him  to  tarry  awhile,  and  soon 
he  had  his  visitor's  story:  of  long-deferred  plans,  of 
wearisome  waiting  and  crushing  defeat.  That  very 
night  he  caused  his  mule  to  be  saddled,  and  started  for 
Granada,  pursuing  the  same  weary  road  through  Palos 
and  Moguer  that  I  have  traversed  (only  he  was  not 
favored  by  steam  or  stage)  to  the  camp,  perhaps  two 
hundred  miles  away. 

Meanwhile,  Columbus  waited,  resting  in  the  cool  cor- 
ridors, walking  meditatively  along  the  shore,  and  gazing 
wistfully  out  upon  the  scene  from  the  arched  and  shel- 
tered mirador. 


AT   THE   NEW    WORLD'S    PORTAL. 


39 


The  convent  to-day  is  in  excellent  preservation,  hav- 
ing been  carefully  restored  and  placed  in  the  care  of  a 
faithful  old  soldier.  I  found  the  family  in  possession  so 
simple,  and  so  kindly  disposed,  that  I  craved  permission 
to  pass  the  day  and  night  there,   which   they  readily 


THE   MIRADOR   OF   LA   RABIDA, 

(Looking  out  upon  the  stream  down  which  Columbus  sailed  from  Palos  to  the  sea.) 


granted.  So,  paying  my  donkey  boy  double  wages,  and 
sending  him  back  to  Moguer  with  a  kind  message  for  the 
friendly  landlord,  I  was  soon  placed  in  control  of  the  con- 
vent, isolate  from  all  the  world.  Not  even  Fray  Perez 
could  have  possessed  it  more  completely.  I  wandered 
at  will  through  its  corridors,  its  cloisters  and  vacant 
refectory,  rambled  over  the  hills  back  and  beyond  the 


40  IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

convent ;  hills  covered  with  artemisia  and  stunted  pines, 
and  indulged  in  solitary  reverie  to  my  heart's  content. 

Climbing  the  winding  stairway  to  the  mirador,  I  had 
before  me  broad  vistas,  through  the  arched  openings,  of 
the  river  and  the  sea.  Directly  beneath,  the  hills 
sloped  rapidly  to  the  half-submerged  lands  of  the  river 
and  sound.  Half-way  down  its  slope  was  a  date-palm, 
said  to  have  been  here  in  the  time  of  Columbus ;  perhaps 
equally  old  are  the  gnarled  and  twisted  fig-trees  and  two 
gray-green  olives  that  keep  it  company.  Extending 
southward,  even  to  the  mouth  of  the  Guadalquivir,  are 
the  Arenas  Gordas,  or  the  great  sands,  that  make  this 
coast  a  solitary  waste.  Truly,  it  is  a  lonesome  spot, 
this  upon  which  the  building  is  perched,  and  the  soul 
of  Columbus  must  have  been  aweary  as  he  drew  near 
the  convent  portal. 

The  Domingo  Rubio,  a  sluggish  stream  tributary  to 
the  Tinto,  separates  from  Rabida  a  sandy  island,  where 
there  is  an  ancient  watch-tower  and  a  camp  of  carbi- 
neers on  the  watch  for  contrabandist  as.  A  little  to  the 
west  the  Domingo  Rubio  meets  with,  and  is  lost  in,  the 
Rio  Tinto,  and  the  two  join  with  the  Odiel  and  flow 
tranquilly  on  to  the  ocean,  where  the  foaming  breakers 
roar  with  a  sound  that  reaches  even  to  La  Rabida.  Be- 
yond their  united  waters  again,  is  another  sandy  island, 
and  another  distant  watch-tower,  till  the  low  coast  fades 
away  in  the  distance.  Down  this  channel  sailed,  or 
floated,  Columbus,  bringing  his  boats  from  Palps,  on 
his  way  to  the  sea.  The  landscape  is  of  a  drear}'  kind, 
flat,  with  distant  woods,  and  farther  on  a  hint  of  purple 
hills.     Opposite,  across  the  broad  bay,  lies  Huelva,  like 


AT   THE   NEW    WORLD'S    PORTAL. 


41 


a  snowdrift,  white  upon  a  tongue  of  land  between  cop- 
per-colored hills  and  the  sea.  A  dreary  landscape,  yet 
a  bright  sun  in  its  setting  might  make  it  transiently 
glorious. 

The  old  soldier  in  charge  of  the  convent,  Don  Cristo- 
bal Garcia,  the  coucergr,  was  evidently  straitened  in  cir- 
cumstances, yet 
he  was  cheerful, 
and  his  hospital- 
ity shone  forth  re- 
splendently.  He 
laughingly  in- 
formed me  that 
he  rejoiced  in  the 
same  name  as 
Columbus — Cris- 
tobal; but,  he 
added,  he  had 
never  done  any- 
thing to  make  it  illustrious.  He  and  his  family  lived  in 
a  primitive  and  even  pitiful  state,  at  meal  times  gather- 
ing around  a  common  platter ;  but  my  own  meals  they 
served  me  on  snowy  linen  at  a  table  apart.  There  were 
six  of  them :  the  old  man,  his  wife,  a  little  girl  named 
Isabel,  some  twelve  years  old,  and  three  boys.  Isabel, 
poor  child,  pattered  about  the  stone  pavement  with  bare 
feet,  but  they  were  pretty  feet,  and  with  little  brown 
ankles  neatly  turned.  There  was  another  member  of 
the  family,  evidently  an  intruder,  a  little  chap  clad 
solely  in  a  short  shirt,  who  had  squint  eyes  and  a  great 
shock  of  bristly  black  hair.      Don  Cristobal  told  me  that 


IN    THE    CONVENT    COURT. 


4-2  IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

he  was  a  descendant  of  one  of  the  Indians  brought  to 
Spain  from  America  on  the  first  voyage;  and  as  the 
child's  face  was  certainly  that  of  an  Indian,  I  was  more 
than  half-inclined  to  believe  the  story.  The  little  people 
were  delighted  with  the  peeps  I  gave  them  through  my 
camera,  and  capered  about  with  delight  at  the  sight  of 
the  court  and  its  flowers  spread  out  before  them  in 
miniature,  and  nearly  jumping  out  of  their  clothes  at 
the  inverted  image  of  the  grave  old  concergc  standing 
on  his  head,  exclaiming,  "  Mira!  Mira!"  and  gazing  at 
me  with  awe  and  wonder. 

They  gave  me  a  bed  in  one  of  the  cloister-cells,  the 
very  one,  Don  Cristobal  assured  me,  that  Columbus 
occupied,  and  I  slept  well  through  the  night.  It  was  a 
disappointment  to  me  that  I  did  not  dream,  and  receive 
a  visitation  from  some  steel-clad  hidalgo,  or  from  a 
girdled  monk  or  two ;  but  of  dreams  I  had  none  worth 
preserving,  and  at  six  in  the  morning  was  awakened  by 
the  good  concergc,  who  inquired  if  Don  Federico  would 
not  like  a  little  refreshment.  Don  Federico  would,  and 
well  he  did,  for  it  was  three  or  four  hours  before  he 
received  a  hint  of  breakfast. 

The  eldest  boy  had  gone  to  Palos  for  twenty  cents' 
worth  of  meat  and  two  eggs,  making  apparent  the 
poverty  of  my  host.  He  did  not  return  until  ten,  and 
then  we  had  breakfast;  and  there  were  the  two  eggs, 
which  the  mistress  could  not  have  regarded  more 
proudly  had  they  been  golden,  for  they  were  very 
scarce  at  that  time  in  Palos,  and  it  was  waiting  on  a 
hen's  pleasure  that  caused  the  boy's  delay.  He  had 
been  told  to  bring  back  two  eggs,  and  if  two  hens  had 


AT   THE   NEW    WORLD'S    PORTAL.  43 

not  have  happened  along  quite  opportunely,  I  might 
have  been  waiting  that  boy's  return  to  this  day. 

There  were  meat  and  bread  and  golden  wine.  And 
that  wine!  The  product  of  Don  Cristobal's  own  vine- 
yard, true  vino  de  Palos,  sweet  and  yet  sparkling.  This 
wine  is  of  a  golden  color,  with  fine  bouquet,  and  cele- 
brated at  Seville.  This  rich,  ocherous  earth  seems  to 
have  bestowed  its  fatness  upon  the  wine-vat,  for  not  on 
the  plains  of  Xeres  is  wine  produced  of  so  rare  a  flavor 
as  this  made  on  the  banks  of  the  Rio  Tinto.  The  rain 
had  fallen  all  the  forenoon  and  had  made  the  convent 
cold  and  cheerless,  so  a  fire  was  built  in  the  fireplace 
of  the  ancient  monks,  and  as  it  crackled  and  leaped 
up  the  huge  chimney-throat  we  were  warmed  to  our 
very  hearts. 

Then  the  old  soldier  told  me  bits  of  his  past  history 
and  legends  of  the  place,  while  the  chubby  children 
gathered  around,  chins  on  their  hands,  stretched  before 
the  fire  like  kittens,  regarding  us  with  wide-open, 
wondering  eyes. 

I  said  we  had  meat ;  it  was  not  flesh  of  lamb  or  sheep, 
but  of  goat;  and  it  was  old,  and  it  was  tough.  Don 
Cristobal  remarked  my  desperate  effort  to  carve  it, 
vainly  exerted,  and  observed  that  the  market  of  Palos 
was  never  supplied  with  other  than  goat-meat,  and  that 
he  doubted  not  that  it  was  very  old. 

Now  Don  Cristobal  had  a  way  of  ascribing  everything 
ancient  to  the  time  of  Columbus. 

"  Is  this  old?  "  I  would  inquire.  And  he  would  re- 
ply, "  Si  Senor,  cs  tic  nip  o  dc  Colon:  "  "Yes,  sir,  surely, 
of  the  time  of  Columbus." 


44  IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

So  I  said,  pointing  to  the  goat-meat,  "  This  is  very- 
old,  is  it  not?"  "Yes,  sir, "  he  replied ;  "I  think  so." 
"Very,  very  old?"  "Yes,  sir."  "Well,  then,  do 
you  think  it  is  of  the  time  of  Columbus?  " 

The  old  man  was  slow  at  digesting  this  query  at  first, 
but  when  he  did  he  nearly  exploded  with  laughter,  and 
hobbled  outside  to  tell  the  Americano's  joke  to  some 
old  cronies  who  were  sunning  themselves  at  the  door. 

After  the  rain  had  ceased,  and  while  the  sun  was 
struggling  fiercely  with  the  clouds,  we  ate  our  dinner  in 
the  corridor,  which  ran  around  a  court,  ox  patio,  open  to 
the  sky.  This  court  was  filled  with  flowers,  vines  crept 
up  the  pillars,  figs  and  oranges  had  possessed  them- 
selves of  space  enough  for  luxuriant  growth,  and  al- 
together it  was  an  attractive  spot.  From  this  court 
opened  out  many  cloisters,  but  there  was  another, 
farther  in,  where  the  chamber-cells  of  the  monks  were 
very  numerous.  Vacant  now,  with  doors  ajar,  and  with 
no  one  to  inhale  the  fragrance  of  oranges  and  roses  in 
this  inner  court.  Off  at  one  side  is  the  chapel  where  it 
is  said  Columbus  knelt  in  prayer,  and  on  the  opposite 
side  a  passage  leads  to  the  refectory,  the  stone  benches 
on  which  the  good  monks  sat  empty  and  chill. 

Climbing  a  narrow  stairway,  you  come  to  a  corner 
room  overlooking  the  Rio  Tinto,  a  large  square  room, 
with  floor  of  earthen  tiles  and  ceiling  of  cedar,  with 
dark  beams  overhead.  This  is  the  Columbus  Room, 
where  the  great  Admiral,  the  prior  and  the  learned 
doctor  held  the  famous  consultation  which  resulted  in 
the  monk's  intercession  with  Isabella.  Many  a  painting 
has  represented  this  historic  scene,  perhaps  none  more 


AT   THE   NEW   WORLD'S    PORTAL.  47 

faithfully  than  the  one  hung-  in  the  room  itself.  An 
immense  table,  old  but  sturdy  still,  and  around  which 
the  great  men  are  said  to  have  gathered,  occupies  the 
center  of  the  room,  and  on  it  is  the  tintcro,  or  inkstand, 
said  to  have  been  used  by  them.  Around  the  wall  are 
hung  several  excellent  pictures;  one  representing  the 
discovery  of  land,  one  showing  Columbus  at  the  convent 
gate,  another  the  consultation,  the  embarkation  at  Palos, 
the  publication  of  the  king's  commands  in  the  church, 
and  the  final  departure  from  La  Rabida. 

I  had  often  thought  that  to  be  a  monk,  cloistered  in 
cool  corridors,  would  be  an  ambition  it  were  well  to 
gratify,  and  I  must  confess  to  a  feeling  of  pity  for  the 
poor  frailes  who  were  turned  loose  from  these  quiet 
retreats  and  set  adrift  on  an  unfeeling  world.  I  wonder 
if  they  enjoyed,  as  I  did,  the  seclusion  of  the  place  and 
the  sunset  view  from  the  mirador?  In  pleasant  weather, 
when  the  hot  sun  shines,  it  must  be  supremely  attract- 
ive, to  one  sitting  in  the  shade  and  looking  forth  upon 
the  sea.  Drowsy  insects  hum  outside,  the  half-sup- 
pressed noises  of  maritime  life  float  in  on  the  breeze, 
and  lively  swallows  fly  in  and  out,  twittering  to  one 
another  as  they  seek  their  nests.  Ah !  pleasant  mira- 
dor, overlooking  the  historic  Rio  Tinto  and  the  sea! 
The  view  afforded  here  comprises  the  scenes  attendant 
upon  the  momentous  departure;  right  before  us,  on 
the  banks  of  the  Domingo  Rubio,  it  was,  that  Columbus 
careened  his  vessels  and  took  aboard  his  stores,  just 
before  setting  sail;  somewhere  near  the  mole  he  took 
his  final  farewell  of  the  good  prior,  the  last,  best  friend 
he  had  in  Spain;  and  beyond  the  sand-spits  glimmer 


48  IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

the  breakers  on  the  Bar  of  Saltes.  Down  the  stream, 
beyond  the  Tinto,  glide  lateen  sails  toward  the  bar  the 
sailors  crossed  in  1492. 

Don  Cristobal  went  down  to  engage  passage  for  me 
in  a  mystick,  or  little  sloop,  that  was  lading  with  ballast 
at  the  river  bank,  and  soon  I  followed  him  to  the  mole, 
where  a  carabinero  rowed  me  across  the  inlet.  Once 
there,  I  found  that  the  mystick  would  not  leave  till 
night ;  but  the  men  were  cheerful  and  chatty,  and  so  I 
staid  a  while.  It  was  on  or  near  this  very  spot  that 
Columbus  cleared  for  his  voyage;  and  what  thoughts 
filled  my  mind  as  I  tarried  here! 

But  not  a  thought  had  the  men  for  aught  save  their 
sand,  which  they  would  take  to  Huelva  and  sell  for 
ballast.  If  I  would  wait,  I  was  welcome  to  a  passage; 
but  they  thought  that  by  crossing  the  sands  I  could  hail 
a  fisherman  in  the  main  channel  as  he  came  in  from 
sea.  The  carabinero  thought  so,  too,  and  took  me  to 
an  ancient  tower  where  his  companions  were,  two  of 
whom  rowed  me  in  a  boat  to  mid-channel,  where  I  had 
the  good  luck  to  catch  a  fisherman  bound  for  Huelva. 
He  took  me  willingly,  and  we  sailed  away  with  a  spank- 
ing breeze,  arriving  there  in  half  an  hour.  Two  men 
and  a  boy  comprised  the  crew,  and  an  immense  fish  the 
catch ;  and  as  we  drew  near  the  quay  a  boy  drove  down 
a  mule-cart  into  the  water,  backed  it  up  to  the  boat,  and 
loaded  us  all  into  it,  cargo  and  crew.  Once  on  shore, 
a  little  urchin,  with  wide-extended  mouth,  seized  my 
camera  and  valise  and  led  the  way  to  the  railway  station, 
where  I  spent  the  forty  minutes  till  train-time  in  gazing 
wistfully  at  Palos  and  La  Rabida. 


'":  .,  '  ~ 


iLABASTEE    TOMB    AT    BUKGC 


{Alabaster  Tomb  in  the  Cartuja,  Convent  of  Miraflores,  in  Burgos,  the  high  altar  of  which 
convent  church  was  gilded  with  the  first  gold  brought  from  America  by  Columbus.) 


AT   THE   NEW    WORLD'S    PORTAL. 


51 


The  convent  lay  against  a  bank  of  clouds,  shining  out 
like  silver;  Palos  also  and  Moguer  gleaming  white 
against  the  hills.  Two  leagues  away  lay  the  sea ;  and 
I  had  just  ploughed  the  channel  crossed  by  the  world- 
seeking  caravels  four  hundred  years  ago.  And  so  I 
left  this  historic  triad  of  towns,  which  had  evoked  for 
me  so  many  memories  of  the  great  century  that  joined 
the  Old  World  with  the  New,  left  them  shining 
against  the  barren  hills,  as  they  have  shone  in  memory 
ever  since. 


CROSS    AT    LA    RABIDA. 


III. 


IN    GUANAHANI    WITH    COLUMBUS. 


WE  cannot 
but  re- 
gard the  first 
voyage  of  Co- 
lumbus as  a 
combination 
of  favorable 
and  fortunate 
events;  for, 
barring  a  slight 
accident  to  the 
Pinta,  nothing 
occurred  to 
baffle  his  plans 
until  the  first 
land  was  in 
sight.  The 
final  departure 
may  be  said 
to  have  been  taken  from  Gomera  in  the  Canary  Islands, 
and  the  last  sight  of  land  was  off  the  Island  of  Ferro. 

52 


CROSSING    Till.   SARGASSO    SEA. 

(So  named  by  the  Spanish.) 


IN   GUANAHANI    WITH   COLUMBUS.  53 

Two  days  after  land  was  lost  to  sight,  or  on  the 
eleventh  of  September,  a  floating  mast  was  seen,  and 
on  the  thirteenth,  the  most  important  discovery  was 
made  by  Columbus.  We  may  say,  quoting  a  distin- 
guished author,  that  Columbus  made  several  discoveries 
before  he  discovered  land.  The  first  of  these  was  the 
variation  of  the  compass,  the  second  the  Sargasso  Sea 
and  the  third  the  trade-winds  of  the  tropics. 

The  variation  of  the  magnetic  needle  of  course  dis- 
turbed him  greatly ;  but  he  had  the  wisdom  to  keep  his 
discovery  to  himself,  until  the  change  became  so  great 
that  the  pilots  noticed  it;  then  he  gave  them  a  plausible 
explanation. 

It  was  about  the  first  of  October  that  they  approached 
the  region  of  the  trade-winds,  and  noticed  the  peculiari- 
ties of  that  vast  weedy  expanse  known  as  the  Sargasso 
Sea.  This  seaweed,  found  floating  on  the  surface  of 
the  ocean,  bears  globules  like  small  grapes  in  shape. 
The  Spanish  sailors,  fancying  a  resemblance  between 
them  and  the  grape  grown  in  Portugal,  called  the  sea- 
plant  the  sargasso,  and  the  name  was  also  given  to  that 
portion  of  the  ocean  where  the  weed  is  found. 

We  know  that  his  astronomical  knowledge  was  imper- 
fect, and  the  nautical  instruments  very  crude.  He  had 
a  compass,  and  a  rude  instrument  called  the  astrolabe, 
by  which  he  determined  his  latitude;  but  he  could  only 
guess  at  his  longitude,  and  he  measured  time  by  an 
hour-glass.  "  It  has  been  said  that  he  probably  had  no 
means  for  accurately  calculating  the  speed  of  his  ves- 
sels, as  there  is  no  mention  of  the  log-and-line  before 
1519;    and  as  to  the  telescope,  it  was  first  used  in  the 


.',4  IN   THE    WAKE    OF   COLUMBUS. 

year  1610.  Having  such  a  slight  equipment,  the  sailors 
of  that  day,  of  course,  were  very  timid  about  venturing 
far  from  land.  The  task  that  Columbus  set  himself  was 
simply  to  go  to  the  Canary  Islands,  in  about  latitude 
twenty-eight  degrees  north,  and  sail  due  west  until  he 
struck  land. "  He  was  diverted  from  his  course  by  the 
advice  of  the  pilots  and  by  the  flight  of  birds  to  the 
southward,  otherwise  he  might  have  landed  on  the  coast 
of  Florida,  near  the  Indian  River. 

"When  I  think,"  said  a  celebrated  writer,  "of  Co- 
lumbus in  his  little  bark,  his  only  instruments  an  imper- 
fect compass  and  a  rude  astrolabe,  sailing  forth  upon  an 
unknown  sea,  I  must  award  to  him  the  credit  of  being 
the  boldest  seaman  that  ever  sailed  the  salt  ocean." 

After  they  had  been  a  month  at  sea,  the  pilots  reck- 
oned they  had  sailed  about  five  hundred  and  eighty 
leagues  west  of  the  Canaries;  but  by  the  true,  though 
suppressed,  figures  of  Columbus,  they  had  made  really 
over  seven  hundred  leagues.  It  was  about  that  time,  or 
October  10,  that  the  crew  became  mutinous;  but  later, 
signs  of  land,  such  as  a  branch  with  berries,  and  a 
piece  of  carved  wood,  changed  gloom  to  hope,  and  strict 
watch  was  kept  throughout  the  night.  They  were  then 
on  the  verge  of  the  great  discovery.  All  seemed  to 
have  felt  that  some  great  event  was  pending;  and  on 
the  night  of  October  11,  Columbus  claimed  to  have  seen 
a  wavering  light.  The  next  day,  early  in  the  morning, 
or  that  is  about  two  o'clock  of  October  12,  land  was 
first  sighted  by  a  sailor  on  the  Pinta.  A  landing  was 
made  the  same  day,  and  possession  taken  in  the  name  of 
the  Spanish  sovereigns. 


pf**^-: 


2UBMU. 


y:  t 


IN   GUANAHANI    WITH   COLUMBUS.  55 

All  these  events,  of  course,  we  are  familiar  with  in 
the  works  of  many  authors,  notably  in  the  history  by 
Washington  Irving,  who  first  made  the  English-speak- 
ing world  acquainted  with  the  voyages  of  Columbus. 
But,  although  it  is  only  four  hundred  years  since  these 
events  took  place,  yet  there  is  a  great  difference  of 
opinion  as  to  the  island  which  may  claim  to  have  been 
the  first  land  sighted  on  that  memorable  date,  October 
12,  1492. 

One  thing  is  certain:  the  first  landfall  of  Columbus 
was  an  island  in  the  Bahamas,  although  opinions  vary 
as  to  which  one,  claimants  having  arisen  for  several 
others  besides  those  mentioned.  But  although  the  islands 
claimed  extend  over  a  distance  of  some  three  hundred 
miles,  yet,  we  may  be  justified  in  going  a  little  farther, 
and  saying  that  not  only  was  the  first  island  one  of  the 
Bahama  group,  but  situate  somewhere  about  midway  in 
the  chain.  Since  the  time  of  Irving  and  Humboldt, 
several  writers  of  distinction  have  given  attention  to 
this  question,  and  though  not  all  coming  to  the  same 
conclusions,  most  of  them  agree  upon  Watling's  Island, 
as  the  place  where  the  Europeans  first  set  foot  upon 
soil  of  the  New  World. 

Unfortunately  for  investigators,  the  journal  of  Colum- 
bus, which,  as  he  informed  the  queen,  at  the  setting  out 
of  the  voyage,  he  should  write  day  by  day,  has  disap- 
peared, and  we  have  only  a  portion  of  it,  alleged  to 
have  been  transcribed  by  a  Spanish  historian,  Las 
Casas.  And  again,  it  is  unfortunate  that  this  tran- 
scription has  apparently  many  discrepancies. 

Since,  however,  the  greater  number  of  writers  recog- 


56  IN   THE   WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

nized  as  authorities  are  in  favor  of  Watling's  Island,  it 
will  be  as  well  to  grant  that  one  the  honor. 

Whichever  island  it  may  have  been,  I  myself  can 
claim  that  I  have  seen  it,  as  I  have  traversed  the  entire 
chain,  from  Turk's  to  Cat,  and  have  studied  them  all 
carefully,  with  a  view  to  giving  an  opinion  on  this  vexed 
question.  Years  ago,  it  was  my  good  fortune  to  bisect 
the  group  on  my  way  to  the  south  coast  of  Cuba,  when 
I  saw  this  island  rising  like  a  cloud,  or  rather  a  blue 
mound,  above  the  horizon.  But  it  was  not  until  July, 
1892,  that  I  had  the  opportunity  for  visiting  it.  Being 
then  in  the  West  Indies  as  Commissioner  for  the  World's 
Columbian  Exposition,  I  received  orders  from  the  exec- 
utives to  investigate  this  question  of  the  Landfall,  and 
visit  the  islands  in  person. 

I  was  then  in  Haiti,  the  Black  Republic,  and  the  first 
opportunity  did  not  occur  until  a  month  after  receiving 
my  commands.  Leaving  the  port  of  Cape  Haitien  early 
one  morning  on  a  steamer  of  the  Clyde  Line,  called  the 
Ozama,  in  a  few  hours  we  sighted  the  Island  of  Tortuga. 
The  day  before,  from  another  port  on  the  Haitian 
coast,  we  had  scanned  the  leeward  shore  of  this  famous 
haunt  of  the  buccaneers  in  times  gone  by,  and  now  were 
on  the  bleak,  iron-bound  coast  of  the  inward  side. 

Finally,  the  turtle-back  Tortuga  faded  out  of  sight, 
and  the  next  land,  or  rather  indication  of  land,  was  the 
southwest  point  of  Inagua,  merely  a  shadowy  semb- 
lance of  terra  firma,  emphasized  a  few  hours  later  by 
the  flashing  out  of  its  revolving  light  from  a  high  white 
tower.  Its  capital,  Matthewstown,  may  be  a  prosaic 
place  enough  in  broad  daylight,  but  by  the  glamor  of  a 


IN    GUANAHANI    WITH    COLUMBUS.  57 

summer's  night  it  was  transformed  into  a  thing  of  ex- 
ceeding beauty,  as  we  lay  a  mile  or  so  off  shore,  await- 
ing a  little  freight  of  Sisal  hemp,  mahogany  logs  that 
had  floated  over  from  Santo  Domingo,  in  the  last  great 
storm,  and  some  bags  of  smuggled  coffee. 

It  had  been  my  intention  to  land  here,  and  take  a 
chance  vessel  (should  by  good  luck  any  such  occur)  for 
Watling's,  in  the  center  of  the  Bahama  chain;  but  the 
agents  of  the  steamer  advised  me  not  to  risk  it,  as  noth- 
ing promised  for  that  island  within  a  month.  They 
assured  me  I  would  stand  a  better  chance  from  Fortune 
Island,  and  if  I  could  only  reach  it,  be  a  hundred  miles 
nearer  my  desired  destination.  As  the  steamer  never 
touched  at  Fortune,  and  indeed  at  none  of  the  Bahamas 
except  occasionally,  I  felt  myself  in  a  predicament  until 
gallant  Capt.  Rockwell,  the  master  of  the  Ozama,  came 
to  my  assistance,  and  promised  that  if  I  would  take 
the  chances  he  would  drop  me  off  the  island,  if  the 
people  there  ashore  would  answer  his  signals  and  send 
out  a  boat. 

Next  morning  at  daylight  we  passed  the  light  of  Cas- 
tle Island,  and  at  ten  o'clock  were  abreast  the  flashing 
surf  of  Long  Cay,  and  could  see  the  little  settlement 
there  that  formed  the  only  one  on  Fortune  Island.  Sig- 
nals were  set:  "Passengers  aboard;  send  off  a  boat," 
and  shortly  after  we  could  see  a  movement  on  the  beach 
about  a  mile  away,  where  a  boat  was  being  launched. 
In  a  little  while  it  came  alongside,  our  engines  having 
stopped,  and  after  an  interchange  of  salutations  my 
luggage  was  quickly  transferred  to  the  boat  below,  and 
I  left  the  comfortable   Ozama  and  launched    out   into 


:,s 


IN   THE   WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 


another  unknown  adventure.  The  steamer  steered  off, 
my  friends  waved  me  a  last  farewell,  and  by  the 
time  we  reached  the  beach  objects  on  board  were 
indistinguish  able. 

I  found  myself  a  stranger  in  a  strange  land,  but  for- 
tunately had  my  usual  good  luck,  and  obtained  board 
and  lodging  at  a  house  near  the  beach.     Fortune  Island, 

or  Long  Cay, 
is  about  eight 
miles  in  length 
and  a  mile  or 
so  in  breadth, 
some  eight  hun- 
dred acres  in 
area,  with  a 
population  of 
seven  hundred 
people,  mostly 
black  and  col- 
ored. The 
chief  production  of  the  island  is  salt,  which  is  raked 
out  of  the  vast  shallow  salt  ponds  formed  just  over 
the  sand-banks  behind  the  reefs.  The  process  of  salt 
gathering  is  a  primitive  one;  the  ponds  are  divided 
into  sections  containing  salt  in  various  stages  of  crystal- 
lization, and  the  water  is  sometimes  pumped  from  one 
to  the  other  by  means  of  a  curious  windmill.  The  great 
heaps  of  salt,  containing  many  thousands  bushels,  are 
pyramidal  in  shape,  white  as  snow,  and  glisten  like 
silver  in  the  sun.  Formerly  this  island  was  a  great 
rendezvous  for  the  wreckers,  and   in  yet  earlier  times 


A    SALT    HEAP    ON    FORTUNE    ISLAND. 


IN   GUANAHAN1    WITH   COLUMBUS.  59 

perhaps  for  the  buccaneers;  but  latterly  their  occupa- 
tion has  departed,  owing  to  the  erection  of  lighthouses 
and  the  substitution  of  steamers  for  the  principal  traffic 
to  and  through  the  islands  instead  of  sailing  vessels. 

Now  and  then  a  steamer  touches  here  going  from 
New  York  to  Jamaica  and  Central  America,  picks  up  a 
crew  of  laborers  for  the  voyage,  and  drops  them  again 
at  their  homes  on  its  return.  It  is  a  barren  island  as 
compared  with  the  islands  of  the  West  Indies  proper; 
and  yet  it  is  not  unattractive,  with  its  white  sand 
beaches,  its  glistening  salt  heaps,  and  its  half-tropical 
vegetation. 

It  was  thought  that  I  could  readily  get  a  vessel  here 
to  take  me  to  Watling's  Island,  but  it  will  show  you  how 
infrequently  these  islands  are  visited,  even  by  coasting 
craft,  when  I  tell  you  that  it  was  nine  days  before  I 
could  secure  a  boat  to  take  me  over,  a  distance  of  only 
one  hundred  miles.  Even  then,  although  that  day 
there  happened  four  or  five  craft  in  port,  the  master  of 
the  dirty  little  "  turtler  "  asked  six  pounds  for  a  run 
of  merely  a  night. 

The  old  wrecker  instinct  is  still  strong  in  the  resi- 
dents of  these  coral  islands,  and  when  they  get  hold  of 
a  stranger  they  make  him  pay  for  long  months  of 
deprivation.  This  was  well  illustrated  by  the  treat- 
ment I  myself  received  at  the  hands  of  the  man  who 
had  taken  me  from  the  steamer.  He  gave  me  accom- 
modation in  a  large  vacant  house  he  had  on  the  beach, 
but,  although  he  is  the  accredited  Commercial  Agent  of 
our  Government  at  Fortune  Island,  and  at  least  should 
have  helped  on  my  exploration,  coming  to  him  as  I  did, 


60  IN    THE    WAKE    OF   COLUMBUS. 

with  letters  from  the  Department  of  State,  yet  he  did 
nothing  for  which  I  did  not  pay  him  the  highest  value. 
More  than  this;  knowing  well  the  urgent  nature  of  my 
mission,  he  yet  kept  me  practically  a  prisoner  on  For- 
tune, when  he  could  easily  have  sent  me  over  to  Wat- 
ling's,  only  one  hundred  miles  away.  For,  lying  at 
anchor  inside  the  reef,  during  all  my  stay,  was  his  fast 
schooner,  the  Jane,  and  a  crew  was  at  hand  only  too 
ea^er  to  earn  a  few  dollars  bv  a  run.     To  be  sure  he  did 


WINDMILL    FOB    PUMPING    SALT    WATER. 

(Fortune  Island.) 

offer  to  take  me  over  at  a  most  preposterous  price  —  one 
hundred  dollars  —  for  the  night's  run,  but  that,  as  he 
well  knew,  was  out  of  the  question.  Days  wore  away 
without  the  desired  sail  appearing;  day  by  day  I  would 
pace  the  beach  and  climb  the  highest  elevation,  scan- 
ning vainly  the  horizon  for  a  sign  of  rescuing  sail  in 
sight.  To  pass  the  time  I  made  a  boat  excursion  to 
Crooked  Island,  and  thereby  added  to  my  increasing 
store  of  information  respecting  the  conjectural  isles  first 


IN   GUANAHANI    WITH   COLUMBUS.  61 

found    by  Columbus;    for,    in  many  respects,  this   one 
answers  to  the  description  given  in  his  journal. 

It  was  the  Fourth  of  July  when  I  arrived  at  Fortune, 
but  the  heat,  I  afterward  learned,  was  not  so  oppressive 
as  it  was  at  the  same  time  in  our  Northern  States.  The 
sun's  rays  may  have  been  stronger,  but  all  day  long  a 
refreshing  breeze  was  blowing,  which  at  night  increased 
to  a  gale,  and  the  only  inconvenience  during  the  day 
was  from  the  terrific  glare  on  the  snow-white  sands  of 
the  shore,  and  the  unchanging  blue  of  the  sky.  Soli- 
tude here  reigned  supreme,  the  few  inhabitants  being 
either  within  doors,  at  work  on  the  salt  pans,  or  with 
the  steamers  on  distant  coasts.  The  beauty  of  the 
moonlight  on  the  pearly  sands  was  something  surpass- 
ing; but  I  had  it  all  to  myself,  and  finally  tired  of 
solitary  strolls.  My  most  refreshing  diversion  was  sea- 
bathing, which  I  indulged  in  every  morning  before  the 
sun  got  high,  reveling  to  my  heart's  content  in  the 
sparkling  brine,  and  under  the  shadow  of  the  great 
black  rocks  stretching  myself  out  in  quiet  enjoyment. 
But  the  delightful  sense  of  security  was  one  day  rudely 
dispelled  when,  just  as  I  was  emerging  from  the  water, 
I  saw  a  shapeless  something  prowling  warily  among 
the  coral  ledges  —  a  great  gray  ghost  of  a  thing,  which 
finally  came  near  enough  for  me  to  see  it  was  a  shark. 
After  that,  when  I  went  for  a  sea- dip,  I  took  along  a 
small  boy  to  stand  watch  while  I  sported  in  the  surf. 
The  islanders  had  told  me  that  no  sharks  ever  came 
within  the  barrier-reefs  of  coral,  which  cropped  out 
from  some  twenty  yards  to  the  distance  of  a  quarter  of 
a  mile  away;  but  the  very  day  I  saw  the  first  shark 


62  IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

two  others  came  up  directly  in  front  of  the  house,  im- 
mense fellows,  each  one  over  ten  feet  in  length.  Some 
fishermen  had  left  fish -garbage  on  the  sand,  and  in  the 
death-like  quiet  of  the  burning  noon  these  monsters 
stole  boldly  in,  one  after  the  other,  and  rolled  over  quite 
on  the  beach,  their  gray  bodies  entirely  out  of  water  in 
their  efforts  to  snatch  the  refuse.  This  they  repeated 
several  times,  even  after  the  alarm  was  given  and  the 
people  came  flocking  to  the  beach,  and  for  several  days 
after  they  followed  the  fishermen  in  from  the  sea.  It 
is,  even  amongst  the  dwellers  in  these  islands,  a  mooted 
question  whether  sharks  will  attack  and  kill  a  human 
being  in  water  near  the  shore,  and  it  is  universally 
acknowledged  that  they  will  not  snap  at  a  black  man  if 
there  is  a  white  one  near  at  the  same  time.  Unlike 
the  alligator,  which  likes  nothing  so  well  as  a  succulent 
negro,  unless  it  may  be  a  juicy  porker,  the  discriminat- 
ing shark  always  prefers  white  meat  to  dark;  but  what- 
ever the  fish's  predilection,  I  for  one  shall  give  him  as 
wide  a  berth  as  possible  in  his  native  element. 

The  name  of  the  settlement  at  Long  Cay,  as  the  port 
of  Fortune  is  locally  called,  is  Albert's  Town,  a  ram- 
bling collection  of  huts  and  houses,  with  a  population 
composed  mainly  of  negroes,  there  being  but  one  per- 
son of  undoubted  white  lineage  in  the  place. 

This  was  the  Collector  and  Resident  Justice,  a  very 
jolly  Irishman,  with  a  brogue  as  rich  as  the  island  itself 
is  poor;  a  man  extremely  well-informed,  with  whom  it 
was  my  delight  to  spend  much  of  my  spare  time.  He 
lived  in  a  little  house  among  the  palms,  all  alone  except 
for  a  small  black  boy  whom  he  had  in  a  way  adopted, 


IN   GUANAHANI    WITH   COLUMBUS.  63 

having  found  him,  some  years  before,  abandoned  by  his 
mother  in  a  hut  in  a  lonely  place.  Wherever  the  Col- 
lector went,  little  Joe  went  too,  and  the  petting  he  got 
made  him  the  envy  of  all  the  boys  of  the  village.  He 
was,  I  fancy,  the  only  one  of  his  kind  on  that  island  in 
danger  of  being  spoiled  by  petting,  and  I  have  in  mind 
two  others  particularly  ill-treated.  They  were  in  the 
employ  of  my  host,  and  the  lashings  he  gave  them  were 
about  his  only  diversion.  Poor  little  chaps !  Without 
the  slightest  provocation  their  master  would  lash  them 
unmercifully  with  a  stinging  whip,  and  the  sight  of 
him  set  them  to  trembling  so  it  was  no  wonder  that 
they  let  things  fall  occasionally  and  broke  the  dishes. 
They  were  both  of  them  orphans,  and  this  brute  had 
them  entirely  at  his  mercy.  I  often  told  him  that  it 
seemed  to  me  burden  enough  for  one  to  be  black,  and 
that  he  ought  not  to  add  to  their  misery.  One  would 
have  thought  that  having  himself  a  trace  of  black  blood 
in  his  veins,  he  would  have  been  more  compassionate 
to  those  of  his  race ;  but  it  is  strange,  though  true,  that 
these  are  the  ones  who  treat  the  negro  worst.  Once 
having  risen  in  the  world,  they  forget  and  despise  their 
parents,  and  are  harsh  to  their  neighbors. 

Although  I  regretted  the  loss  of  time  in  that  island, 
yet  I  am  thankful  that  I  was  not  indebted  to  this  man 
for  any  favors,  and  that  he  did  nothing  for  which  he  was 
not  fully  compensated. 

At  last  came  the  day  of  deliverance ;  the  long-watched- 
for  sails  came  in,  three  in  one  day,  and  in  one  of  these 
unwashed  "  turtlers "  I  engaged  a  passage  to  the 
island  of  my  desires.     Captain  and  crew  were  black, 


04 


IN   THE    WAKE    OF    COLUMBUS. 


and  they  lived  on  the  windward  coast  of  Crooked  Island. 
We  left  Long  Cay  at  dark,  and  in  a  few  hours  we  were 
off  the  flashing  light  on  Bird  Rock,  whence  we  took  our 
departure  for  Watling's,  and  at  daylight  next  morning 
I  saw  a  long  low  line  of  land  against 
the  sky.  It  was  the  island  we  were 
seeking.  But  the  wind  failed  us  for 
a  while,  and  it  was  full  noon  before 
we  could  reach  the  roadstead  of 
Riding-Rocks  and  the  shelter  of  the 
island's  only  settlement  of  Cockburn 
Town.  Having  my  consular  flag 
with  me,  I  had  the  captain  hoist  it, 
and  we  entered  the  harbor  with  the 
stars  and  stripes  displayed  in  all  their 
glory.  This  unexpected  arrival  at 
this  quiet  port,  flying  a  flag  that 
rarely  was  seen  here,  threw  all  the 
town  into  consternation;  but  no  ob- 
jection was  offered  to  my  landing,  as 
the  boat  was  mine  for  the  time  being,  having  been 
chartered  by  me,  and  I  was  entitled  to  fly  the  flag  I 
liked  best,  of  course.  This  was  the  view  taken  also  by 
the  Collector,  a  handsome  Englishman,  a  retired  officer 
of  Her  Majesty's  navy,  who  was  serving  in  this  retired 
spot  temporarily,  in  order  to  secure  a  "good-service" 
pension.  He  welcomed  me  most  cordially,  for  strangers 
and  news  were  equally  scarce,  and  placed  his  services 
at  my  commands. 

My  arrival  was  most  opportune,  for  the  whole  island 
was  suffering  from  a  drought,  and  many  people  were  on 


MY    "  TUKTLEE." 


IN   GUANAHANI   WITH   COLUMBUS.  05 

the  point  of  starvation.  Fortunately,  I  had  learned  of 
their  condition  before  leaving  Fortune,  and  had  brought 
a  supply  of  provisions  sufficient  for  a  month.  It  proved 
in  such  demand  that  I  had  hardly  any  remaining-  at  the 
end  of  the  week.  There  was  absolutely  nothing  to  be 
had,  not  even  milk  or  eggs,  those  last  resorts  of  these 
needy  people. 

I  had  been  recommended  to  the  Resident  Justice  of 
the  island,  Captain  Maxwell  Nairn,  as  one  who  would 
attend  to  my  wants;  but  recent  and  dangerous  illness 
had  rendered  him  unable  to  extend  me  the  hospitality 
he  would  surely  otherwise  have  done,  and  I  could  not 
obtain  even  a  room  in  which  to  sleep.  He  and  his 
family,  however,  were  urgent  in  their  endeavors  to  find 
me  quarters,  and  finally  secured  a  room  in  the  thatched 
hut  of  an  old  black  woman,  who  agreed  to  cook  my 
meals.  The  stone  walls  of  the  apartment  were  white 
and  clean,  and  the  thatch  overhead  was  neatly  fastened 
to  the  rafters,  while  the  old  lady's  cooking  was  at  least 
endurable.  Captain  Nairn's  was  the  only  white  family 
on  the  island,  the  other  six  hundred  inhabitants  being 
black  and  colored.  The  town  consisted  of  a  few  score 
huts  and  houses,  an  English  church,  and  a  Baptist 
chapel.  One  road  ran  across  to  a  central  lagoon,  a  mile 
away,  and  a  trail  around  the  island;  but  the  great  high- 
way is  the  ocean,  their  conveyances,  boats  and  canoes. 
Watling's  Island  is  egg-shaped;  it  is  about  twelve  miles 
long,  and  from  five  to  seven  miles  broad,  with  great 
salt-water  lagoons  in  the  center,  and  entirely  surrounded 
with  dangerous  reefs.  Once,  it  is  believed,  the  coral 
rock,   of   which    it   is    entirely   composed,   supported    a 


66 


IN   THE    WAKE    OF   COLUMBUS. 


fertile  soil,  but  at  present  the  rock  is  entirely  denuded, 
and  the  only  soil  is  found  in  pockets  and  depressions  in 
the  surface. 

A  Bahama  farm,  in  fact,  whether  it  be  found  in  Nas- 
sau or  Turk's  Island,  is  always  a  surprise  to  one  from 
the  American  States,  because  of  its  poverty.  When  the 
scant  vegetation  that  covers  the  coral  rock  is  removed, 


LOOKING    ACROSS    THE    LAGOONS    OX    WATLING'S    ISLAND. 

("  One  road  ran  across  to  the  central  lagoon.") 

there  remains  only  the  white,  glistening  rock  itself, 
gleaming  out  as  bare  and  as  devoid  of  plant  life  as  a 
marble  monument. 

But  these  naked  rocks,  so  pitifully  suggestive  of  pov- 
erty, the  natives  regard  with  affectionate  interest  and 
speak  of  them  as  their  "farms."  The  great  drought 
of  the  past  two  years  had  deprived  the  farms  of  even 
the  scant  moisture  of  ordinary  years,  and  induced  a 
general  failure  of  crops  throughout  the  island. 


IN    GUANA  HA  XI    WITH    COLUMBUS.  67 

Although  the  island  lies  just  on  the  verge  of  the 
Tropics,  in  latitude  twenty-four,  yet  its  vegetation  is  by 
no  means  tropical  in  character,  conveying  rather  a  hint 
of  nearness  to  the  mid-zone  than  actual  fertility.  I 
am  writing  of  the  vegetation  presumably  natural  to  the 
island,  as  se'en  in  the  woods  and  in  the  fields,  and  not 
of  the  cultivated  plants ;  for,  indeed,  all  the  fruits  and 
vegetables  of  the  Tropics  can  be  raised  here. 

But  we  no  longer  note  the  luxuriant  vegetation  de- 
scribed by  Columbus,  who  speaks  of  the  orchards  of 
trees,  and  of  great  forest  giants,  such  as  the  present 
day  does  not  produce.  All  the  vegetal  covering  is 
now  of  the  second  growth,  though  there  are  evidences 
of  the  forest  primeval  in  old  stumps,  long  submerged, 
that  still  exist,  showing  that  Columbus  was  probably 
correct  in  his  descriptions. 

It  was  my  desire  to  examine  every  evidence  that 
should  help  to  establish  the  character  of  the  people  resi- 
dent here  at  the  coming  of  the  Spaniards,  and  bring  to 
light  all  the  existing  proofs  of  their  residence ;  hence  I 
devoted  all  my  time  to  that  end.  The  very  morning 
after  my  arrival,  the  Collector  accompanied  me  on  a 
short  exploring  trip  across  the  lagoon,  where  there  was 
said  to  be  a  cave  that  had  never  been  explored. 

He  placed  the  entire  police  force  at  my  disposal,  said 
police  "force"  consisting  of  one  man,  who,  with  his 
two  sons,  managed  our  boat  and  carried  us  over  the 
shallow  places  in  the  lagoon.  There  were  many  shal- 
low places,  and  also  a  small  canal,  so  that  their  labor 
as  carriers  was  somewhat  arduous ;  yet  the  police  force 
was  equal  to   the  demands  upon  him,  and,  all   told,  he 


68  IN    THE    WAKE    OF    COLUMBUS. 

"  backed  "  the  Collector  and  myself  from  the  boat  to  the 
shore,  and  vice  versa,  eight  times  that  day,  and  without 
apparent  fatigue.  As  the  Collector  was  a  very  large 
man,  weighing  at  least  two  hundred  pounds,  this  per- 
formance  was  very  creditable  to  the   "force." 

After  great  difficulty,  mainly  experienced  in  cutting 
our  way  through  the  thorny  and  matted  growth  that 
everywhere  covers  the  surface  in  all  the  Bahamas,  we 
reached  the  cave  in  which  tradition  averred  the  ancient 
Indians  used  to  dwell.  It  was  merely  a  large  opening 
in  the  limestone,  forming  a  room  of  goodly  proportions, 
the  roof  perforated  in  many  places,  and  the  floor  cov- 
ered with  bat  guano.  It  had  not  been  investigated,  the 
islanders  told  us,  but  we  found  nothing  to  reward  our 
search,  and  so,  late  in  the  afternoon,  we  returned  to  the 
lagoon  and  the  town. 

The  heat  had  been  so  intense  that  day,  that  the  next 
I  was  unable  to  leave  my  hut,  but  the  day  after  I  went 
on  the  real  exploring  trip  of  the  voyage,  across  the 
lagoon  and  up  its  entire  length,  to  the  north  end  of 
the  island,  where  lies  the  conjectural  landing-place  of 
Columbus. 

I  had  with  me  the  two  sons  of  the  policeman,  who 
ably  managed  the  boat,  and  by  noon  we  were  at  the 
head  of  the  lagoon,  where  we  left  the  craft  in  the  mud, 
and  trudged  over  land,  or  rather  rock,  to  the  lighthouse, 
which  rose  before  us  a  mile  or  so  away.  Arriving  there, 
heated  and  exhausted,  I  received  a  warm  welcome  from 
the  head  keeper,  who  placed  a  comfortable  house  at  my 
service,  and  took  me  to  the  top  of  the  tower  for  the 
view.      Built  as  it  is,  upon  the  highest  elevation  in  the 


IN   GUANAHANI    WITH   COLUMBUS. 


69 


island,  this  tower  commanded  the  surrounding  country 
and  the  sea  adjacent,  the  whole  of  Watling's  being  visi- 
ble, shaped  like  a  pear,  with  its  stem  to  the  south. 

There  is  little  doubt  in  my  mind  that  I  was  then  look- 
ing upon  the  very  spot  at  which  Columbus  landed   just 


THE    LANDING-PLACE   OF    COLUMBUS. 
(Watling's  Inland.) 

four  hundred  years  before.  The  reefs  off  shore  threw 
up  their  sheets  of  foam  as  at  the  time  of  the  discovery: 
the  bright  lagoons  in  the  center  of  the  island  lay  directly 
at  my  feet ;  the  low  hills  scarce  rising  above  the  general 
level,  the  green  trees,  the  sparkling  beaches  —  all  were 
spread  before  me,  and  the  prospect  was  pleasing  and 
beautiful  in  the  extreme.      Half  a  mile  distant  from  the 


70  IN    THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

tower  stretched  a  long  continuous  beach  of  silver  sands 
terminated  by  promonotories,  some  two  miles  apart, 
breasting  which  the  water  is  calm  as  in  a  pond,  though 
broken  by  innumerable  jagged  reefs  of  coral.  Beyond 
this  calm  space  of  water  that  encircles  the  island  all 
around,  lies  a  chain  of  barrier-reefs,  that  prevent  the 
tumultuous  waves  from  reaching  to  the  shore,  and  where 
all  is  quiet  and  secure. 

Bordering  this  beach,  along  its  entire  length,  is  a  low 
growth  of  sea-grapes,  dwarf  palmetto,  and  sweet  shrubs, 
just  such  as  one  may  see  on  the  southern  coast  of 
Florida.  Scattered  over  its  silvery  surface  are  shells 
of  every  hue,  and  innumerable  sprays  of  the  Sargasso 
weed,  such  as  the  first  sailors  saw,  coming  here  in  1492. 
Sea-birds  hover  over  it,  fleecy  clouds  fleck  it  with  their 
shadows;  but,  other  than  the  distant  murmur  of  the 
breakers,  no  sound  disturbs  the  eternal  silence  here. 

It  was  at  the  southeast  extremity  of  this  beach,  where 
a  jutting  promontory  of  honey-combed  coral  rock  runs 
out  toward  the  barrier-reefs,  that  we  assume  the  first 
landing  took  place,  in  a  beautiful  bay,  with  an  open  en- 
trance from  the  ocean.  On  the  beach,  the  fierce  sun 
beats  relentlessly,  but  there  are  deep  hollows  in  the 
rock,  where,  in  the  morning,  we  can  find  shelter  from 
the  heat;  and,  availing  ourselves  of  one  of  these  cool 
retreats,  let  us  rest  a  while,  and  read  what  Columbus 
wrote  respecting  his  landing  on  the  sands  before  us. 

Says  that  quaint  old  chronicler,  Herrera:  "  It  pleased 
God  in  his  mercy,  at  the  time  when  Don  Christopher 
Columbus  could  no  longer  withstand  so  much  mutter- 
ing, contradiction  and  contempt,  that  on  Thursday,  the 


IN    GUANAHANI    WITH    COLUMBUS.  71 

eleventh  of  October,  of  the  aforesaid  year,  1492,  in  the 
evening,  he  received  some  comfort  by  the  tokens  they 
perceived  of  their  being  near  the  land." 

And  the  following,  from  the  journal  of  the  Admiral : 
"Two  hours  after  midnight  the  land  appeared,  about 
two  leagues  off.  They  lowered  all  the  sails,  and  lay  to 
until  Friday,  when  they  reached  a  small  island  of  the 
Lucayos,  called  Guanahani  by  the  natives.  They  soon 
saw  people  naked;  and  the  Admiral  went  on  shore  in 
the  armed  boat,  also  Martin  Alonzo  and  Vincente 
Yanez  Pinzon,  commanders  of  the  Pinta  and  Nina. 
The  Admiral  took  the  royal  standard,  and  the  two 
captains  the  two  banners  of  the  Green  Cross,  hav- 
ing an  '  F  '  and  a  '  Y  '  at  each  arm  of  the  cross,  sur- 
mounted by  its  crown.  As  soon  as  they  landed,  they 
saw  trees  of  a  brilliant  green,  abundance  of  water,  and 
fruits  of  various  kinds.  The  Admiral  called  the  two 
captains  and  the  rest,  as  well  as  the  notary  of  the  fleet, 
to  certify  that  he,  in  presence  of  them  all,  took  posses- 
sion of  said  island  for  the  king  and  queen,  his  masters. 
Soon  after  a  large  crowd  of  natives  congregated  there. 
And  what  follows  are  the  Admiral's  own  words,  in  his 
book  on  the  first  voyage  and  discovery  of  these  Indies. 
'  I  presented  some  of  these  people  with  red  caps  and 
strings  of  beads,  and  other  trifles,  by  which  we  have  got 
a  wonderful  hold  on  their  affections.  They  afterward 
came  to  the  boats  of  the  vessels,  swimming,  bringing  us 
parrots,  cotton  thread  in  balls,  and  such  trifles,  which 
they  bartered  for  glass  beads  and  little  bells.  All  of 
them  go  about  naked  as  they  came  into  the  world, 
their    forms    are    graceful,    their    features   good,    their 


72  IN    THE    WAKE    OF   COLUMBUS. 

hair  as  coarse  as  that  of  a  horse's  tail,  cut  short  in 
front  and  worn  long  behind.  They  are  dark,  like  the 
Canary  Islanders,  and  paint  themselves  in  various  col- 
ors. They  do  not  carry  arms,  and  have  no  knowledge 
of  them,  for  when  I  showed  them  the  swords,  they  took 
them  by  the  edges,  and  through  ignorance  cut  them- 
selves. They  have  no  iron,  their  spears  consisting  of 
staffs  tipped  with  a  fish's  tooth  and  other  things.  .  .  . 
At  dawn,  of  Saturday,  October  13,  many  of  the  men 
came  to  the  ships  in  canoes  made  out  of  the  trunks  of 
trees,  each  of  one  piece  and  wonderfully  built,  some 
containing  forty  men,  and  others  but  a  single  one. 
They  paddle  with  a  peel  like  that  of  a  baker,  and  malce 
great  speed,  and  if  a  canoe  capsizes,  all  swim  about  and 
bail  out  the  water  with  calabashes.  I  examined  them 
closely,  to  ascertain  if  there  was  any  gold,  noticing  that 
some  of  them  wore  small  pieces  in  their  noses,  and  by 
signs  I  was  able  to  understand  that  by  going  to  the 
south,  or  going  around  the  island  to  the  southward,  I 
would  find  a  king  who  had  large  gold  vessels,  and  also 
gold  in  abundance.  At  this  moment  it  is  dark,  and  all 
have  gone  ashore  in  their  canoes.  I  have  determined  to 
lose  no  time,  .  .  .  but  to  wait  till  to-morrow  even- 
ing, and  then  sail  for  the  southwest,  ...  to  try  if 
I  can  find  the  Island  of  Cipango. '  " 

To  this  first  land  of  the  first  voyage,  Columbus  gave 
the  name  San  Salvador.  By  the  Indians  it  was  called 
Guanahani.  By  the  "Indians,"  I  say,  for  thus  were 
termed  these  people  found  in  possession,  and  who  were 
here  for  the  first  time  seen  by  Europeans.  In  the  first 
day  of  their  stay  on  shore,  the  Spaniards  had  added  sev- 


IN    GUANAHANI    WITH    COLUMBUS.  73 

eral  new  things  to  their  discoveries:  to  the  discovery  of 
the  variation  of  the  compass,  the  Trades,  the  Sargasso 
Sea  and  weed,  they  now  added  the  new  people  termed 
by  their  commander  "Indians,"  the  craft  called  by 
the  Indians  themselves  canoes  (canoas),  new  species  of 
parrots,  implements  of  bone  and  stone,  and,  later  on, 
hammocks. 

We  would  like  to  know  what  kind  of  people  these 
were,  who  welcomed  the  first  Europeans  to  America, 
and  if  any  of  their  kind  exist  to-day.  What  they  were 
we  have  seen;  brown  and  bare,  shapely,  athletic,  doing 
no  harm,  but  gentle  and  loving.  "I  swear  to  Your 
Majesties, "  wrote  Columbus,  ' '  there  are  no  better  people 
•on  earth ;  they  are  gentle,  and  without  knowing  what 
evil  is,  neither  killing  nor  stealing." 

And  yet,  what  was  their  fate  ?  We  know,  and  it  is 
true,  that  their  lovable  qualities  availed  them  not,  but 
rather  hastened  their  extinction.  That  very  year,  in 
the  closing  decade  of  the  fifteenth  century,  ' '  was  begun 
that  historical  tapestry,  woven  by  the  Spanish  artisan- 
conquerors  in  the  loom  of  the  New  World,  the  warp 
whereof  was  blood  and  tears,  the  woof  the  sighs  and 
groans  of  a  dying  people. " 

One  cannot  but  wonder  why  it  was.  We  may  find 
the  key-note  of  the  acts  of  Columbus  in  a  quaint  ex- 
pression regarding  him  by  Bernal  Diaz,  one  of  the 
conquerors  who  followed  him:  "He  took  his  life  in 
his  hand  that  he  might  give  light  to  them  who  sit  in 
darkness,  and  satisfy  the  thirst  for  gold  which  all  men 
feel."  This  thirst  for  gold  was  overpowering,  it  con- 
trolled all  his  actions,  and  caused  him  to  inaugurate  a 


74  IN  THE    WAKE    OF    COLUMBUS. 

system  of  slavery  that  eventually  caused  the  extinction 
of  all  the  Indians  of  the  West  Indies.  Yes;  it  is  a 
melancholy  truth  that  of  all  the  aborigines  discovered 
by  Columbus,  in  the  Bahamas,  Cuba  and  the  larger 
islands,  not  a  descendant  lives  to-day.  In  fact,  hardly 
one  remained  alive  fifty  years  after  the  discovery. 

In  the  year  1508,  Haiti  having  been  depopulated  of 
its  Indians,  the  cruel  Spaniards  came  to  the  Bahamas 
and  deported  the  Lucayans  to  wear  their  lives  away 
in  the  mines.  They  enticed  them  aboard  their  ves- 
sels under  pretext  of  taking  them  to  see  their  friends 
who  had  died.  "For  it  is  certain,"  says  the  historian 
Herrera,  "that  all  the  Indian  nations  believe  in  the 
immortality  of  the  soul,  and  that  when  the  body  was 
dead  the  spirit  went  to  certain  places  of  delight."  By 
these  allurements  above  forty  thousand  were  trans- 
ported, never  to  return ;  and  a  few  years  later  the  islands, 
found  teeming  with  inhabitants,  were  deserted  and  soli- 
tary. In  Cuba  were  found  other  Indians,  but  a  little 
better  supplied  with  articles  of  adornment  and  subsist- 
ence, who  had  hammocks  (hamacas),  made  fire  by  rub- 
bing together  two  pieces  of  wood,  raised  maize,  or  Indian 
corn,  and  spun  cotton,  which  grew  everywhere  in  their 
fields.  The  only  domesticated  quadruped  was  found  in 
Cuba,  the  utia  or  dumb  dog;  while  in  the  Bahamas  the 
people  had  domesticated  only  the  parrot,  from  the  wild 
life  around  them. 

Having  been  so  long  extinct,  let  us  say  for  three  hun- 
dred years  at  least,  little  remains  from  which  we  may  re- 
construct their  lives  as  led  at  the  period  of  discovery. 
What  little  there  is,  I  have  seen  it  all,  and  will  describe 


IN   GUANAHANI    WITH    COLUMBUS. 


<0 


it.  From  the  disjecta  membra  found  at  intervals  in 
various  places,  we  will  try  to  evolve  the  Indian  of  the 
fifteenth  century.  In  the  first  place,  we  have  bones  and 
skeletons,  particularly  crania,  which  undoubtedly  per- 
tained to  the  Lucayan,  or  Ceboyan,  as  he  has  been 
called.  These  have  mostly  been  found  in  caves,  and 
generally  be- 
neath the  cave 
earth,  or  bat 
guano;  and 
not  one  island 
alone  has  pro- 
duced them, 
but  many, 
throughout 
the  Bahamas. 
I  myself  se- 
cured two,  for 
exhibition     at 

the  Exposition,  which  illustrate  the  peculiar  features  of 
the  Lucayan  cranium.  These  have  been  described  by 
Prof.  W.  K.  Brooks,  of  the  Johns  Hopkins  University, 
who  says : 

"The  skulls  are  extremely  broad  in  proportion  to 
their  length,  and  are  among  the  most  brachycephalic 
(round-headed),  of  all  human  skulls,  the  greatest  breadth 
being  more  than  nine  tenths  of  the  greatest  length.  The 
brain  was  large,  and  the  capacity  of  the  cranium  is 
about  equal  to  that  of  an  average  Caucasian  skull.  The 
Ceboyans  flattened  their  heads  artificially  in  infancy,  so 
that  the  vertical   part  of   the    forehead   is   completely 


.-Kl'LL    <iF    BAHAMA    INDIAN. 


76  IN   THE    WAKE    OE   COLUMBUS. 

obliterated  in  all  adult  skulls,  and  the  head  slopes  back- 
ward immediately  above  the  eyes. "  * 

When  I  was  in  Cuba,  in  189 1,  I  saw  and  photographed, 
in  the  rooms  of  the  Royal  Academy,  a  couple  of  Indian 
skulls  imbedded  in  lime-rock  that  had  been  found  in  a 
cave  at  Cape  Maysi,  the  eastern  point  of  Cuba. 

Their  origin  and  their  antiquity  are  undoubted,  al- 
though, knowing,  as  we  do,  the  rapidity  of  stalagmitic 
formation  in  limestone  caves,  we  need  not  argue  the 
extreme  antiquity  their  surroundings  might,  at  first 
glance,  imply.  Again,  in  Santo  Domingo  I  found  two 
crania,!  in  possession  of  a  learned  physician  of  Puerto 
Plata,  which  were  undoubtedly  of  the  native  Ciguyans  — 
the  Indians  living  here  at  the  arrival  of  Columbus. 

The  keeper  of  the  Watling's  Island  light,  Captain 
Thompson,  kindly  procured  me  trusty  men  for  my  in- 
vestigation, and  himself  guided  me  to  the  nearest  cave 
in  which  human  bones  had  been  found.  It  is  only  in 
the  caves  and  hollows  in  the  rocks  that  we  now  find 
human  bones  and  skeletons;  the  deposition  of  the  humus 
being  so  scanty  that  nothing  extraneous  deposited  there 
has  been  preserved.  To  the  caves,  then,  we  went,  for 
those  of  Watling's  Island  had  already  yielded  valuable 
results. 

In  1886,  the  United  States  steamer  Albatross  visited 
the  island,  and  found  many  antiquities  of  value;  and  since 
then   Sir  H.    Blake,  while  Governor   of   the  Bahamas, 

*  Popular  Science  Monthly,  November,  1SS9. 

t  These  three  different  types  of  the  characteristic  natives  of  these  distinct  groups  of 
islands  —  Bahamas,  Cuba  and  Haiti  — I  have  had  carefully  drawn  from  my  Own  photo- 
graphs, and  from  them  the  Ethnologist  may  be  able  to  deduce  something  of  value  to 
science. 


IN   GUANAHANI    WITH    COLUMBUS.  77 

thoroughly  explored  every  island  of  his  extensive  pro- 
vince. Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  I  myself  could  enter- 
tain but  little  hope  of  finding  anything  of  importance, 
following  in  their  wake.  And,  in  truth,  I  do  not  make 
any  claims  that  I  did ;  but  every  contribution  to  science  is 
welcomed  by  the  earnest  investigator,  and  the  little  I 
can  add,  together  with  a  grouping  of  all  the  "finds," 
here  for  the  first  time  given,  cannot  be  otherwise  than 
acceptable.  We  groped  for  hours,  on  that  and  succeed- 
ing days,  in  the  dark  and  dismal  caves,  finding  many 
disjected  fragments  of  skeletons  and  moldering  bones, 
but  no  skeleton  in  its  entirety  —  as  its  owner  left  it  when 
he  shuffled  off  this  mortal  coil.  If  Columbus  only  could 
have  known  —  if  the  Indians  themselves  could  —  what  a 
value  would  now  attach  to  an  aboriginal  skeleton  in  this 
quadri-centennial  of  their  discovery,  perhaps  some  of 
them  might  have  kindly  bequeathed  their  bones  to  the 
investigators  of  posterity.  But  the  "Admiral"  cared 
more  for  gold  than  for  bones,  and  as  for  the  poor  abori- 
gines, though  many  of  them  were  eventually  skeleton- 
ized by  the  Spaniards,  it  was  not  done  in  the  interests 
of  scientific  investigation,  but  out  of  revenge;  in  the 
spirit  of  avarice,  or  lust.  At  all  events,  the  three  skulls 
I  secured  later,  at  Nassau,  for  the  Exposition,  and  possi- 
bly one  or  two  more,  constitute  all  we  have  to  work 
from. 

The  caves  themselves  are  interesting,  but  as  I  had 
already  made  the  "grand  round"  of  our  own  Mam- 
mouth  Cave,  there  was  little  here  to  attract,  more  than 
could  be  found  in  other  limestone  formations. 

Subsequently,  in  Cat  Island,  I  found  other  bones,  and, 


78 


IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 


as  these  were  added  to  those  obtained  here,  and  the 
whole  given  in  charge  of  Prof.  Putnam,  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Ethnology,  something  of  interest  may  eventu- 
ate. Yes,  I  must  confess  to  grievous  disappointment, 
and  I  really  felt  quite  incensed  at  Columbus  and  the 
aborigines  that  they  should  have  been  so  inconsiderately 
forgetful  as  to  leave  no  vestige  of  their  remains. 

I  did  get  on  the  trail  of  one  (alleged)  aboriginal  skull ; 
and  though  the  recollection  of  the  misadventure  is  by 
no  means  pleasant;  still,  a  good  story  shall  never  be 
omitted  because  it  reflects  on  me,  and  I  will  give  it 
without  comment,  if  only  to  illustrate  a  certain  phase 


INDIAN    ANTIQUITIES,    FROM    THE    ISAHAJIAS. 

of  negro  character.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the 
people  of  Watling's  Island  were  on  the  verge  of  starva- 
tion, and  that  my  provisions  and  silver  were,  to  say  the 
least,  very  acceptable.  It  goes  without  saying,  then,  that 
if  anything  could  have  been  obtained  for  money  it  was 
available  then,  at  the  time  of  my  visit.  More  "guides  " 
and  laborers  flocked  around  me  than  I  could  possibly 
employ,  and  more  were  really  engaged  than  I  had  any 
use  for. 

They   were  honest  enough,  and  faithful,   especially 


IN   GUANAHANI    WITH    COLUMBUS.  79 

when  the  provision  hampers  were  opened  and  the  silver 
disbursed;  but  they  didn't  like  work.  I  have  a  fellow- 
feeling  for  them  there,  but  in  view  of  the  fact  that  they 
were  in  sore  need  of  money,  and  that  I  offered  to  give 
them  good  prices  for  all  the  antiquities  they  could  guide 
me  to,  it  seemed  to  me  they  might  have  exerted  them- 
selves a  little  more  to  our  mutual  advantage.  At  last 
one  of  the  negroes  recollected  that  a  boy  had  told  him 
of  a  skull  he  had  seen,  deep  down  in  a  cave,  only  a  few 
days  before.  Of  course,  I  dispatched  him  for  that  boy, 
instantly. 

The  boy  came;  yes,  he  had  seen  the  skull,  and 
more  than  that,  "  dey  was  heaps  ob  bones,  too,  sah."  I 
was  afire  at  once;  but  as  the  hour  was  then  late  for  the 
trip,  I  arranged  for  him  to  return  next  morning,  which 
he  promised  faithfully  to  do.  Morning  came,  but  no 
boy.  I  sent  one  of  the  assistants  in  waiting  to  look  him 
up,  and  as  he  did  not  return,  another,  until  at  last  all 
the  men  had  temporarily  intermitted  their  entomologi- 
cal labors,  and  were  scouring  the  fields  for  that  boy. 
Night  came,  at  last,  but  without  the  desired  scientist, 
though  the  father  of  the  delinquent  came  and  told  me 
a  very  doleful  story  of  the  disappearance  of  the  skull. 

"  De  head-bone,  Massa,  him  done  gone  '  tirely,  sah; 
when  ma  boy  done  go  look  fo'  'em,  sah,  dey  wan'  no 
head-bone  dah.      I  spec  some  Jumbie  gos'  gut  'em,  sah. " 

I  looked  at  the  man  severely,  and  told  him  that  was 
not  true,  which  he  admitted;  but  at  the  same  time  he 
said  his  son  had  cleared  out,  and  that  I  had  to  admit. 
Finally  the  truth  came  out.  It  seems  that  some  months 
previously  the  American  artist,  Bierstadt,  had  sojourned 


80  IN    THE    WAKE    OF    COLUMBUS. 

here  while  painting,  or  rather  making,  the  sketches  for 
his  famous  picture  of  the  Landing-place  of  Columbus. 
All  unconsciously,  he  had  been  the  cause  of  my  discom- 
fiture. One  of  the  negroes  had  brought  him  a  skull, 
for  which  he  had  paid  him  a  liberal  price.  But  after 
the  artist  had  departed,  the  officers  of  the  chapel  to 
which  the  negro  belonged  had  hauled  him  over  the 
coals,  on  the  alleged  offense  of  desecrating  a  grave.  I  do 
not  suppose  they  for  a  moment  entertained  any  scruples 
on  the  subject,  but  there  was  one  thing  they  were  unan- 
imous on:  and  that  was,  that  the  quondam  owner  of 
those  bones  would  sometime  appear,  in  ghostly  shape, 
and  demand  satisfaction.  The  poor  fellow  was  fright- 
ened, as  they  intended  he  should  be,  but  as  he  had 
already  spent  the  money  received  he  could  not  make  a 
division  with  the  chapel  —  which  the  unregenerate 
declared  was  the  real  object  of  the  discipline  —  and  he 
was  put  on  probation. 

This  was  the  state  of  affairs  when  I  entered  into  my 
negotiation,  and  it  shows  what  a  strong  hold  superstition 
still  has  upon  those  folk  when,  though  in  dire  distress, 
thc\- will  not  venture  to  relieve  themselves  at  the  risk  of 
incensing  the  ghosts,  or  Jumbies.  The  boy  did  not 
appear  during  my  stay,  and  I  came  away  without  the 
coveted  cranium.  As  the  black  men  themselves  ex- 
pressed it,  "Dat  was  'one'  on  the  Buckra;"  but  I  here- 
with respectfully  submit:  the  "  Buckra  "  did  not  suffer 
so  much  by  it  as  they  did. 

But  the  bones  are  not  the  only  remains  the  aborigines 
have  left  us  by  which  to  determine  their  status,  for 
other  objects  are  scattered  throughout  the  West  Indies. 


IN   GUANAHANI    WITH    COLUMBUS.  81 

Their  houses,  having  been  of  perishable  materials,  such 
as  reeds  and  palm-leaves,  nothing  remains  to  show  us 
what  they  were;  but  some  of  the  implements  they  used, 
and  even  some  of  their  household  furniture,  have  been 
found.  The  most  numerous  articles  that  have  been  re- 
covered are  those  small  stones  carved  and  chipped  in  the 
shape  of  chisels,  gouges,  spear-heads,  and  even  hoes  and 
knives,  known  to  collectors  as  "celts,"  and  these  have 
been  found  everywhere.  And  here  again  comes  in  the 
superstition  and  ignorance  of  the  native,  who,  every- 
where in  the  West  Indies,  calls  these  artificially-shaped 
stones  "thunderbolts."  The  belief  that  they  are  of 
celestial  origin  is  firmly  planted  and  ineradicable,  and  I 
have  even  seen  some  men  who  declare  they  themselves 
have  seen  the  "  t'underbolts  "  descend  from  the  skies. 
In  Fortune  Island  I  met  one  old  negro  who  affirmed 
that  he  had  seen  the  identical  stone  I  bought  of  him 
drop  out  of  the  clouds  during  a  thunder-storm.  "  Don' 
yo'  mek  no  mistek,"  he  said,  "  me  see  him  drap  wiv  my 
own  eye.  One  time  da  come  t'under-storm  an'  da  tree 
in  da  front  ma  house  he  done  'truck  ba  de  t'under,  an' 
ma  wife  he  say,  'I  'clar  I  b'leve  t'underbol'  done  drap 
in  yander  tree ; '  an'  sho  nuff,  when  me  go  look  an'  zamine 
da  he  be  right  in  de  crack  ob  de  lightnum.  Me  mus' 
b'leve  um  ef  me  see  urn,  " 

The  name  is  universal;  in  the  interior  of  Santo  Do- 
mingo I  found  they  go  by  the  name  of  "  Piedras  de 
Rajas, "  which  is  the  equivalent  in  Spanish  of  ' '  Thunder- 
bolt."  One  that  I  have  in  my  possession,  a  beautiful 
green  stone,  of  perfect  shape,  I  obtained  of  an  old  gold- 
smith, in  the  historic  region  of  gold  where  Columbus 


82  IN    THE    WAKE    OF   COLUMBUS. 

first  found  the  precious  metal.  He  employed  it  as  a 
touch-stone,  to  indicate  the  purity  of  the  gold  brought 
him  by  the  natives,  by  the  streak  left  upon  it  after  being 
rubbed  with  the  gold.  In  color  and  texture,  shape  and 
workmanship,  the  celts  of  the  Bahamas  are  exactly  the 
same  as  those  of  the  larger  island  far  to  the  south ;  and, 
as  there  is  no  stone  similar  to  that  of  which  they  were 
made  throughout  the  whole  Bahama  chain,  the  natural 


CARVED    SEAT   OF    LIGNUM-VITjE,      FROM    THE    BAHAMAS. 

inference  is  that  the  implements  were  imported,  the  In- 
dians living  in  the  southern  islands  bringing  them  here 
for  barter.  This  is  highly  probable,  for  the  Caribs  of 
the  southern  isles  are  known  to  have  made  long  journeys 
in  their  canoes,  as  well  as  the  dwellers  in  the  Bahamas. 
The  kinds  of  implements  found  here  indicate  that  the 
aborigines  were  peaceful  and  agricultural,  exactly  what 
Columbus  described  them,  and  not  warlike,  for  few  war- 
weapons  have  been  found.  In  addition  to  these  celts 
we  note  mortars  and   pestles;  the    latter   with  carved 


IN   GUANAHANJ    WITH   COLUMBUS.  83 

heads  that  have  been  taken  for  idols;  beads  of  stone 
and  oyster  shell  and  fragments  of  pottery.  The  Indians, 
it  is  believed,  made  fairly  good  pottery, and  cooked  their 
food  by  heating-  stones  and  throwing  them  into  the  water 
till  it  boiled.  Not  alone  the  pottery,  but  all  the  articles 
yet  discovered,  indicate  that  these  Indians  were  in  a 
very  low  state  of  civilization,  not  far  removed  from  bar- 
barism, and  it  must  have  required  a  painful  stretch  of 
the  imagination  for  Columbus  to  perceive  in  these  simple 
people  the  rich  and  civilized  inhabitants  of  Cathay,  of 
whom  he  had  dreamed  of  discovering. 

There  yet  remain  other  articles  to  mention,  which 
show  that  these  barbarians  did  have  among  them,  or 
were  in  communication  with,  skillful  artisans  who 
carved  wonderful  things  in  wood  and  stone,  the  like 
of  which  have  not  been  found  elsewhere.  Historian 
H  err  era  wrote  that  when  the  Indies  were  discovered, 
all  the  common  people  sat  on  the  ground  in  the  pres- 
ence of  strangers,  but  that  their  chiefs  made  use  of  low 
seats,  of  stone  or  wood,  carved  in  the  shape  of  a  beast 
or  reptile,  with  very  short  legs,  its  head  and  tail  erect, 
and  with  golden  eyes.  We  believe  this  to  have  been 
the  truth,  because  several  such  strange  seats  have 
been  discovered,  notably  in  the  Caicos,  and  island  of 
Grand  Turk,  in  the  southern  Bahamas,  where  they  may 
still  be  seen  in  the  Public  Library  there.  The  Spanish 
Consul  at  Grand  Turk  also  has  a  very  rare  thing  in  the 
shape  of  an  Indian  axe,  of  stone,  the  head  and  handle 
being  of  one  piece;  and  another  axe  is  there  shown:  the 
head  of  stone,  and  fitted  into  a  wooden  handle;  an 
object  of  extreme  rarity.      Few  of   the  many  thousand 


84  IN     THE    WAKE    OF    COLUMBUS. 

implements  hitherto  found,  of  the  ancient  peoples  of 
America,  have  possessed  the  interest  that  attaches  to 
this,  because  of  its  completeness. 

These,  then,  are  about  all  that  remain  to  us  of  the 
people  discovered  by  Columbus,  whose  extinction  he 
himself  hastened  by  recommending  and  initiating  their 
enslavement.  Simple  folk,  without  thought  of  harm, 
they  early  felt  the  evil  effects  of  Spanish  domination. 
Having  no  gold  to  tempt  the  cupidity  of  the  conquerors, 
they  for  a  time  escaped  their  attention,  but  when  slaves 
were  needed  for  the  mines  of  Haiti,  then  the  Spaniards 
returned  and  snatched  them  from  their  homes.  Even 
the  very  people  whom  Columbus  praises  as  the  most 
loving  and  gentle  on  earth,  and  who  welcomed  him  and 
his  crews  as  heaven-descended  men,  giving  them  all 
their  possessions,  were  carried  by  these  same  men  into 
a  slavery  worse  than  death. 

Ah,  well !  "We  know  not  why  it  was  that  the  strong 
should  ever  have  oppressed  the  weak,  and  have  stained 
their  swords  with  innocent  blood,  in  those  first  fierce 
days  of  America's  beginnings. 

They  are  gone,  now,  all  of  them.  We  know  the 
Spaniards'  fate;  but  no  one  can  tell  when  and  where 
and  how  perished  the  last  of  Guanahani's  gentle  tribe. 


IV. 


WHERE    WAS    THE    ADiMIRAL's    LANDFALL  ? 


w: 


HO  can  tell 
where  it  lies 
—  that  first  land 
sighted  by  Columbus 
and  his  crew,  after 
their  weary  voyage 
across  the  Atlantic  ? 
We  will  ignore  the 
light  the  Admiral 
claimed  to  have 
seen  because  it  has 
not  been  proved  that 
he  saw  one;  there 
are  those  who  think 
it  was  but  in  keeping 
with  his  character  to 
affirm  a  light  that 
never  shone,  in  order 
to  defraud  that  poor 
sailor,  Rodrigo  de  Triana,  of  his  reward.  Let  us  ig- 
nore the  light,  and  land  with    Columbus  on  the  coast 

85 


»Ct     tftawj), 

MAP   OF    WATLINCi's   ISLAND. 


86  IN    THE    WAKE    OF    COLUMBUS. 

approached  that  memorable  Friday,  the  twelfth  of 
October,  1492.  He  landed,  that  is  admitted;  and  he 
landed  somewhere  in  the  Bahamas;  in  all  probability, 
as  has  already  been  stated,  midway  the  chain.  This 
much  conceded,  we  turn  to  special  investigators  to  ascer- 
tain upon  which  particular  island  of  the  group.  Nearly 
every  writer  on  the  subject  has  a  different  theory;  but 
fortunately  there  are  a  few  who  have  given  it  exhaus- 
tive study,  who  have  been  over  the  ground  in  person, 
and  who  have  received  their  impressions  from  actual 
observations. 

It  happens  also  that  those  whose  opinions  are  entitled 
to  consideration,  have  received  their  training  in  the 
naval  service,  either  of  this  country  or  of  England,  and 
are  qualified  to  write  of  the  voyage  as  brother  mariners. 
The  recognized  authorities  on  the  subject  are  Capt.  A. 
B.  Becher,  of  the  English  Navy,  and  Capt.  G.  V.  Fox, 
of  the  United  States  Navy.  I  am  aware  that  others 
have  written,  and  have  written  well;  but  all  we  need 
may  be  found  in  the  pages  of  the  two  writers  above 
named. 

It  was  not  until  Capt.  Becher's  work,  "The  Landfall 
of  Columbus,"  appeared,  in  1856,  that  the  question  was 
agitated.  Up  to  that  time  the  conclusion  of  Wash- 
ington Irving,  that  the  landfall  was  Cat  Island,  had 
been  generally  accepted.  The  routes  had  been  care- 
fully worked  out  for  Irving  by  an  officer  of  the  United 
States  Navy,  and  had  received  the  sanction  and  ap- 
proval of  so  high  an  authority  as  Humboldt.  Navar- 
rete,  from  whom  Irving  drew  much  of  the  material  for 
his  history,  assumed  that  Turk's  Island  coincided  with 


WHERE    WAS    THE    ADMIRAL'S    LANDFALL? 


87 


that  described  by  Colum- 
bus; and  in  the  year  1846 
the  late  George  Gibbs,  for 
many  years  a  resident  of 
Grand  Turk,  ably  sup- 
ported this  theory,  in  a 
paper  before  the  New  York 
Historical  Society. 

Capt.  Fox  wrote  in  sup- 
port of  Samana,  or  Atwood 
Cay;  but  his  work,  so  thor- 
ough in  its  investigations, 
and  honest  in  its  conclu- 
sions, rather  re-enforces 
the  statements  of  Becher, 
who  claims  Watling's  Isl- 
and as  the  landfall.  Capt. 
Becher  is  supported  by 
Lieut.  Murdoch,  who  began 
on  the  coast  of  Cuba  and 
traced  the  track  of  Colum- 
bus back  to  the  island  first 
sighted. 

A  summary  of  their  con- 
clusions, not  only  as  to  the 
conjectural  landfall,  but  in 
regard  to  the  islands  sub- 
sequently discovered  by 
Columbus,  is  herewith 
presented : 

It  will  be  noted  that  no 


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88  IN    THE    WAKE    OF    COLUMBUS. 

two  investigators  agree  as  to  the  first  landfall  without 
disagreeing  as  to  the  second;  and  if  they  happen  to 
coincide  on  the  third,  it  is  only  to  fall  out  over  the 
fourth.  And  the  difference  between  the  extremes,  as 
represented  by  Cat  Island  in  the  north,  and  Grand  Turk 
in  the  south,  is  something  like  three  hundred  miles. 
But  this  is  not  material ;  each  writer  had  his  own  opin- 
ion, and  perhaps  a  preconceived  one,  and  by  extracting 
a  little  truth  here  and  a  little  there,  we  may  approxi- 
mate a  correct  result.  There  is  a  consensus  of  opinion 
decidedly  in  favor  of  Watling's  as  the  first  landfall,  and 
so  eminent  an  authority  as  Judge  Daly,  of  the  American 
Geographical  Society,  holds  to  this  theory. 

Says  Major:  "  While  agreeing  with  Capt.  Becher  in 
the  identification  of  Guanahani  with  "Watling's,  I  find 
that  officer  entirely  at  issue  with  the  diary  of  Columbus 
in  making  him  anchor  near  the  northeast  end  of  the 
island,  and  then  sailing  around  its  northern  point. 
The  first  anchorage  of  Columbus  in  the  New 
World  was  off  the  southeast  point  of  Watling's  Island, 
a  position  which  entirely  tallies  with  all  his  movements 
as  mentioned  in  his  diary." 

This  is  the  opinion  of  a  man  who  has  never  seen 
the  island,  but  who  has  studied  the  subject  so  deeply 
that  he  thinks  he  knows  all  about  it.  His  conclusions 
bear  out  the  general  statement,  however,  and  are  accept- 
able to  the  seeker  after  truth.  Let  us  turn  once  more 
to  the  "Journal  of  Columbus,"  and  question  him  again 
regarding  his  movements  after  he  had  landed. 

I  shall  assume  Watling's  to  be  the  island,  having 
found  no   conclusive  evidence   to   the   contrary.       We 


WHERE    WAS    THE    ADMIRAL'S    LANDFALL?  89 

accept  the  courses  of  Columbus  across  the  ocean  (as 
worked  out  by  the  eminent  navigators  previously  men- 
tioned) which  brought  him,  at  least  approximately,  to 
the  center  of  the  Bahama  group. 

Hear,  then,  the  evidence,  presumably  in  his  own 
words.  I  say  presumably,  because  we  have  only  an 
abstract  from  his  journal,  and  not  the  original.  The 
only  evidence  we  have  is  in  a  manuscript  copy  of  the 
' '  Diary  of  Colon, "  found  by  Senor  Navarrete  in  Spain,  in 
1825;  it  is  an  abridgment  of  the  "Journal  of  the  First 
Voyage  of  Colon,"  made  by  the  Bishop  Las  Casas,  his 
famous  contemporary,  "the  genuineness  and  authen- 
ticity of  which  copy  have  yet  to  be  impeached." 

According  to  the  journal  of  Columbus,  then;  first,  as 
his  vessels  approached  the  island,  they  "  lay  to,"  outside 
the  reefs,  and  after  the  landing: 

' '  This  island  is  large  and  very  level,  has  a  very 
large  lagoon  in  the  middle,  is  without  any  mountain, 
and  is  all  covered  with  verdure  most  pleasing  to  the 
eye;  "  all  which  is  applicable  to  Watling's,  and  particu- 
larly the  "  lagoon  in  the  center,"  which  does  not  exist 
in  Cat ;  a  similar  feature  is  found  only  in  Crooked. 

It  was  inhabited :  ' '  The  people  are  remarkably  gentle, 
have  no  iron,  do  not  carry  arms,  and  have  no  knowledge 
of  them ;  are  well-formed,  of  good  size,  and  intelligent  " 
—  facts  borne  out  by  the  remains  discovered  in  modern 
times,  such  as  crania,  celts,  agricultural  implements  and 
pottery.  They  had  canoes,  "made  out  of  the  trunks 
of  trees,  all  in  one  piece."  A  canoe,  or  portion  of  one, 
was  found  in  a  cave  near  Riding- Rocks,  the  chief  road- 
stead of  Watling's  Island.       "They  came  to  the  boats, 


90 


IN   THE   WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 


swimming,  bringing  us  parrots,  cotton  "  (which  grows  in 
the  island),  etc. 

Cotton  is  indigenous  here;  parrots  have  been  here 
within  the  memory  of  man,  and  are  now  found  in  flocks 
on  Acklin  Island,  one  hundred  miles  to  the  southeast; 
the  second  growth  of  forest  on  Watling's  Island  is  not 
high  enough  to  afford  them  shelter.  "I  have  seen  here 
no  beasts  whatever,  but  parrots  only."     There  are  no 


THE   HEADLAND    COAST   OF    WATLING'S   ISLAND. 

indigenous  quadrupeds  larger  than  a  rat,  and  few  rep- 
tiles, the  largest  being  the  iguana,  which  he  mentions 
later,  as  seen  in  another  island. 

After  two  days  on  the  island  —  Sunday,  October  14: 
"At  dawn  I  ordered  the  boats  of  the  ship  and  of  the 
caravels  to  be  got  ready,  and  went  along  the  island. 
I  was  afraid  of  a  reef  of  rocks  which  entirely 
surrounds  that  island,  although  there  is  within  it  depth 
enough  and  ample  harbor  for  all  the  vessels  of  Christen- 
dom ;  but  the  entrance  is  very  narrow.      It  is  true  that 


WHERE    WAS    THE    ADMIRAL'S    LANDFALL?  91 

the  interior  of  that  belt  contains  some  rocks,  but  the 
sea  is  there  as  still  as  a  well."  No  more  accurate  de- 
scription could  be  written  of  the  great  barrier-reef  that 
surrounds  this  island,  nor  of  the  aspect  of  its  inclosed 
waters. 

In  looking  for  a  place  to  fortify,  he  found  "  a  piece 
of  land  like  an  island,  only  it  is  not  one,  which  in  two 
days  could  be  cut  off  and  converted  into  an  island." 
This  was  near  the  harbor,  which  in  every  particular 
answers  to  the  sheltered  Graham's  Harbor,  at  the  ex- 
treme end  of  the  island;  it  is  secure,  though  shallow, 
and  ample  for  small  vessels  of  the  light  draught  of 
Columbus's  time.  As  to  the  "piece  of  land  like  an 
island,"  this  is  found  in  "Cut  Point,"  the  eastern  arm 
that  protects  Graham's  Harbor  from  the  open  sea;  it  is 
a  long  neck  of  land  cut  in  two  by  the  erosion  of  wave- 
action  ;  an  island  at  high  water,  and  part  of  the  main- 
land at  low  tide. 

Thus  far,  there  is  no  discrepancy  whatever,  and  it  is 
only  as  the  Spaniards  leave  the  island  that  an  apparent 
variance  is  noted. 

"  I  observed  all  that  harbor,  and  afterward  I  returned 
to  the  ship  and  set  sail,  and  saw  so  many  islands  that  I 
could  not  decide  to  which  one  to  go  first.  ...  In 
consequence,  I  looked  for  the  largest  one,  and  deter- 
mined to  make  for  it,  and  am  so  doing,  and  it  is  probably 
distant  five  leagues  from  this  of  San  Salvador,  the  others 
some  more  or  less." 

This  is  the  one  weak  link  in  the  chain  of  evidence  in 
favor  of  Watling's.  There  are  no  large  islands  visible 
from  this  one;  but  the  objection  is  equally  applicable  to 


92  IN    THE    WAKE    OF    COLUMBUS. 

Cat,  though  not  to  Grand  Turk.  It  is  possible  that  the 
mariners  ma}'  have  been  deceived,  and  mistook  eleva- 
tions and  depressions  of  the  same  island  for  different 
cays.  I  myself,  in  approaching  Watling's  from  Fortune, 
noted  that  the  detached  portions  of  the  island  gradually 
coalesced,  until  what  appeared  to  be  several  islets  were 
merged  into  one.  But  again :  one  island  is  visible  from 
"Watling's;  this  is  Rum  Cay,  which,  in  clear  weather, 
may  be  discerned  from  the  extreme  southern  point.  It 
is  twenty  miles  distant ;  this  agrees  nearly  with  Colum- 
bus's estimate,  for  later  he  enters  in  his  journal:  "  As 
the  island  was  five  leagues  distant,  rather  seven,  and 
tide  detained  me,  it  was  about  noon  when  I  reached  the 
said  island,  and  I  found  that  that  side  which  is  toward 
San  Salvador  runs  North  and  South,  and  is  five  leagues  in 
length,  and  the  other,  which  I  followed,  ran  East  and 
West  and  contains  over  ten  leagues. " 

The  description  applies  exactly  to  Rum  Cay,  both  as  to 
situation  with  respect  to  the  other  and  as  to  shape ;  but 
the  same  allowance  must  be  made  for  errors  of  measure- 
ment as  before,  since  the  estimates  of  Columbus  were 
made  from  his  vessel's  deck,  and  by  the  eye,  and  can 
by  no  means  be  regarded  as  accurate.  Reckoning  the 
Spanish  league  at  two  and  one  half  miles,  we  must  in 
nearly  every  case  deduct  at  least  one  third  from  the 
estimates  of  Columbus,  as  due  to  unconscious  exaggera- 
tion. Imperfect  as  the  transcription  of  the  journal  may 
be,  there  is  not  one  single  feature  of  its  description  that 
is  not  applicable  to  Watling's.  Having  landed  on  its 
northeast  shore,  Columbus  sailed  around  the  north  end, 
coasted  the  west  shore  its  entire  length  and  departed 


i-i       o> 


to    o 


WHERE    WAS    THE    ADMIRAL'S    LANDFALL?         95 

from  the  southern  point,  making  Rum  Cay,  as  related. 
His  course  was  southwest  to  Rum  Cay,  thence  due  west 
to  another  island  visible  in  the  distance. 

This  was  Long-  Island,  and  is  accurately  given,  with 
the  distance  from  the  second  island,  or  Rum  Cay,  the 
general  trend  of  its  shores,  and  configuration.  ' '  And 
from  this  island  of  Santa  Maria  to  the  other  are  nine 
leagues,  east  and  west,  and  all  this  portion  of  it  runs 
northwest  and  southeast.  .  .  .  And  being  in  the 
gulf  midway  between  these  two  islands,  I  found  a  man 
in  a  canoe,  who  was  going  from  Santa  Maria  to  Fernan- 
dina  "  (the  large  island),  "who  had  a  small  piece  of  his 
bread  "  (probably  cassava),  "  a  calabash  of  water,  a  small 
string  of  beads,  and  two  bta7icas"  (small  coins),  "by 
which  I  knew  that  he  came  from  the  island  San  Salvador, 
had  passed  to  Santa  Maria,  and  was  now  going  to  Fernan- 
dina. "  This  incident  illustrates  the  boldness  of  these 
Indians,  in  venturing  so  far  from  land  in  their  frail 
canoes,  and  explains  the  occurrence  in  these  islands  of 
articles  that  could  only  have  been  obtained  from  a  great 
distance.  This  Indian  also  had  "some  dry  leaves, 
highly  prized,  no  doubt,  among  them,  for  those  of  San 
Salvador  offered  some  to  me  as  a  present."  This  was, 
presumably,  tobacco,  which  was  afterward  found  in  use 
in  Cuba.  The  Admiral  took  the  Indian  aboard  and 
treated  him  kindly;  not  because  of  any  liking  for  the 
poor  fellow,  but  that  his  friends  "may  give  us  of  all  that 
they  have." 

In  Fernandina,  in  addition  to  things  already  seen, 
they  first  saw  the  hammock ;  ' '  their  beds  and  coverings 
looked  like  cotton  nets,"  which   they  called  hamacas. 


96  IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

No  one  who  has  seen  Long  Island,  can  doubt  that  it  was 
the  third  one  visited  by  Columbus,  for  the  reasons  above 
stated;  in  addition,  his  description  of  Clarence  Harbor, 
"the  very  marvelous  port  with  narrow  entrance, "is 
entirely  confirmatory. 

After  cruising  two  or  three  days  up  and  down  the 
coast,  detained  and  baffled  by  adverse  winds,  the  Span- 
iards finally  set  sail  for  the  southeast,  and  in  three 
hours  saw  an  island  to  the  east,  reaching  its  northern 
extremity  before  midday.  Here  the  vessels  anchored 
at  a  little  islet,  which,  without  doubt,  was  Bird  Rock, 
at  the  northwest  extremity  of  Crooked  Island.  There 
is  a  light  on  it  now,  and  it  is  the  point  of  departure 
for  Watling's,  Rum  Cay,  and  Long  Island,  on  the  course 
from  Crooked  and  Fortune. 

As  already  intimated,  I  have  been  over  the  course, 
and  have  cruised  along  the  shores  of  both  Fortune 
and  Crooked.  And  I  can  understand  the  enthusiasm 
of  the  Admiral,  writing  in  his  journal,  with  the  scene 
before  him  at  Crooked  Island  as  I  have  had  it:  "If 
the  other  islands  are  beautiful,  this  is  still  more  so: 
it  has  many  trees,  very  green  and  very  large,  gentle 
hills  enhance  with  their  contrasts  the  beauty  of  the 
plains,  .  .  .  and  this  cape  where  I  have  anchored 
I  have  called  Cape  Beautiful,  because  it  is  so.  I  an- 
chored here  because  I  saw  this  cape  so  green  and 
beautiful,  as  are  all  the  things  and  lands  of  these 
islands,  so  that  I  do  not  know  to  which  to  go  first,  nor 
do  my  eyes  grow  tired  with  looking  at  such  beautiful 
verdure,  so  different  from  our  own.  .  .  .  Here  are 
some  large  lagoons,  and  around  them  are  the  trees,  so 


WHERE    WAS    THE    ADMIRAL'S    LANDFALL?  97 

that  it  is  a  marvel,  and  the  grass  is  as  green  as  in 
Andalusia  in  April.  And  the  songs  of  the  little  birds 
are  such  that  it  seems  as  if  a  man  could  never  leave 
here." 

Ah,  yes!  I,  too,  like  the  great  Admiral,  have  heard 
those  "songs  of  little  birds,"  and  have  felt  it  was  a  joy 
to  listen  to  them. 

Now,  even  as  then,  the  mocking-bird  pours  out  his 
melody  for  all  to  hear.     The  great  forests  are  gone; 


THE    COAST   OF   WATLING'S   ISLAND. 


their  human  occupants  have  passed  away,  a  different 
race  dwells  here ;  but  the  odorous  thickets  remain,  from 
which  "  the  odors  came  so  good  and  sweet,  from  flowers 
and  trees  on  land,  that  it  was  the  sweetest  thing  in  the 
world;"  and  the  mocking-birds  dwell  herein,  gladden- 
ing the  heart  of  man  with  their  music.      I  remember, 


98  IN   THE   WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

one  was  my  neighbor  at  Watling's,  living  in  an  orange- 
tree  near  the  eastern  window  of  my  hut,  and  his  notes 
began  at  dawn,  even  before,  continuing  at  intervals  all 
the  day.  At  hottest  noon,  when  everything  else  was 
hushed  and  lifeless,  he  would  mount  to  the  topmost 
twig  of  his  tree,  and  pant  forth  a  gush  of  liquid  melody. 
Without  them,  else,  these  thickets  are  silent  and  without 
sign  of  life. 

The  fauna  of  a  country  changes  little,  even  in  the 
lapse  of  centuries,  and  probably  the  bird-life  was  simi- 
lar to  what  it  is  to-day.  There  may  have  been  some 
changes,  but  mainly  wrought  through  the  agency  of 
man;  for  instance:  bird-collectors  have  nearly  exter- 
minated the  song-birds  of  some  islands,  merely  for  the 
small  sums  they  receive  for  the  skins.  Not  only  are 
they  collected  for  the  adornment  of  women's  hats  and 
bonnets,  but  there  are  men  whose  sole  ambition  is  to  pos- 
sess the  largest  collection  of  birds  of  any  given  locality ; 
these  send  out  hordes  of  boys,  who  murder  for  money 
the  choicest  feathered  friends  of  man.  Were  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  islands  more  enlightened,  they  would  send 
these  collectors  to  jail  as  soon  as  they  began  their 
nefarious  work. 

The  sailors  killed  an  iguana  here,  which  they  called 
a  serpent;  they  found  aloes,  loading  the  ships  with  a 
quantity;  they  filled  the  water-casks,  at  a  spot  now 
called  "  Frenchman's  Wells,"  and  in  this  same  island  of 
Fortune  first  heard  of  "an  island  which  the  natives 
call  Cuba,  but  which  I  think  must  be  Cipango. "  The 
twenty-fourth  of  October  they  sailed,  leaving  with  re- 
gret this  island  that  had  so  entranced  them. 


WHERE   WAS   THE   ADMIRAL'S    LANDFALL?        101 

"At  midnight  I  weighed  anchor  from  the  Island  of 
Isabella  and  the  cape  of  the  Rocky  Islet  (Bird  Rock), 
in  order  to  go  to  the  island  of  Cuba,  which  these  people 
tell  me  is  very  large,  with  much  trade,  and  yielding 
gold  and  spices ;  and  by  their  signs  I  understand  it  to 
be  the  island  of  Cipango,  of  which  marvelous  things  are 
related,  and  which,  on  the  globes  and  maps  I  have  seen, 
is  in  this  region ;  and  they  told  me  I  should  sail  to  reach 
it  west-southwest,  as  I  now  am  sailing." 

The  next  night,  the  southern  cape  of  Fernandina  bore 
northwest,  and  the  next  islands  were  sighted,  called 
by  the  Admiral  las  Is/as  de  Arenas  (Sand  Islands). 
Departing  from  these,  leaving  them  on  the  north,  at 
sunrise,  two  days  later,  October  28,  he  saw  the  island  of 
Cuba. 

With  the  discovery  of  Cuba,  the  voyage  through  the 
Bahamas  terminates.  After  the  first  landing-place  on 
the  Cuban  coast  has  been  defined,  the  journal  is  less 
ambiguous,  and  we  can  follow  the  explorers  step  by 
step.  Before  we  leave  the  subject,  however,  I  desire 
one  more  word  as  to  the  latest  conclusions  regarding 
the  landfall  and  the  islands  subsequently  visited  by 
Columbus.  I  have  given  a  summary  of  opinions  up  to 
the  time  of  my  own  investigation.  But,  since  I  was  sent 
out  specially  commissioned  by  the  Executives  of  the 
Columbian  Exposition  to  ascertain  the  truth,  if  possi- 
ble, and  devoted  much  time  and  study  to  the  question, 
it  would  only  be  fair  to  those  gentlemen  of  the  Exposi- 
tion, as  well  as  to  myself,  to  present  my  own  conclusions. 
They  are  fully  borne  out  by  the  results  of  the  expedition 
sent  out  in  1891  by  the  Chicago  Herald,  whose  chief, 


102 


IN    THE    WAKE    OF   COLUMBUS. 


Mr.  Wellman,  made  an  able  and  exhaustive  report  at 
the  time,  and  erected  on  or  near  the  conjectural  landing- 
place  on  Watling's  Island,  a  handsome  commemorative 
monument. 

Our   investigations  were  entirely  independent,   as   I 

was  in  the  Southern 
West  Indies  at  the  time 
of  the  Herald  expedi- 
tion and  came  up  to  Wat- 
ling's  from  the  island  of 
Haiti,  while  Mr.  Well- 
man  went  there  from  Nassau.  Our  visits  were  exactly 
a  year  apart,  but  together  we  have  surveyed  the  entire 
field  of  controversy,  and  the  following  emended  table  is 
given,  as  approximating  a  correct  result : 


wtrtM, 
INDIAN    CELT,    FROM    CAT    ISLAND. 


San  Salvador 
Guanahani 

Santa  Maria 

Fernandina 

Isabella 

Islas  de  Arenas 

Cuban 

Watling's 

Rum  Cay 

Long  Island 

Crooked 
Fortune 

Ragged,  or 
Columbus  Bank 

Port 
Jibarra 

Crooked  and  Fortune  are  given  as  one  island,  for  so 
they  were  regarded  by  Columbus,  being  separated  only 
by  a  narrow  sound,  and  doubtless  they  are  the  same 
that  are  figured  on  the  earliest  maps  as  the  "Tri- 
angles," from  their  very  obvious  triangular  shape,  as 
taken  together.  In  conclusion,  to  fix  firmly  the  names 
bestowed  by  Columbus,  we  will  quote  from  the  letter 
written  by  him  to  Luis  de  Santangel,  Chancellor  of  the 
Exechequer  of  Aragon,  giving  the  first  account  of  the 
first  voyage : 


WHERE    WAS    THE    ADMIRAL'S    LANDFALL? 


103 


.«ji^^ffipW»^M«^ 


^i-i.^s-t^ 


"  To  the  first  island  I  found,  I  gave  the  name  of  San 
Salvador,  in  remembrance  of  His  High  Majesty,  who 
hath  marvelously  brought  all  these  things  to  pass;  the 
Indians  call  it  GnanaJiani.  To  the  second,  I  gave  the 
name  of  Santa  Maria 
de  la  Concepcion ;  the 
third  I  called  Ferna- 
dina,  the  fourth  Isa- 
bella, the  fifth  Juana, 
(Cuba);  and  so  to 
each  I  gave  a  new  name,  and  when  I  reached  Juana  I 
followed  its  coast,  and  found  it  so  large  that  I  thought 
it  must  be  the  mainland  —  the  province  of  Cathay." 

He  was  undeceived  as  to  the  existence  of  a  West  In- 
dian Cathay,  but  his  surmise  as  to  its  insular  character 
was  not  verified  until  after  his  death,  when,  in  1508, 
Cuba  was  first  circumnavigated. 


INDIAN    CHISEL    FOUND    IX    THE    ISLANDS, 


STONE   AXE,    TURK'S   ISLAND, 


V. 


THROUGH    THE    BAHAMA    ISLES. 

WATLING'S  Island  is  distant  from  New  York,  by 
the  route  the  steamers  take  to  Aspinwall,  or 
Colon,  just  one  thousand  miles:  a  little  more  than  half- 
way to  the  Isthmus  of  Panama.  It  is  one  hundred 
miles  from  Fortune  Island,  and  one  hundred  and  sev- 
enty-five miles  from  Nassau,  the  capital,  on  the  island 
of  New  Providence.  Its  only  connection  with  the  out- 
side world  is  by  an  infrequent  sailing-vessel  of  small 
tonnage,  and  the  mail-boat  which  runs  irregularly 
between  the  capital  and  Inagua,  touching  at  the  "  out- 
island,"  one  way  or  the  other. 

Having  dropped  me  at  Riding-Rocks,  the  black  man 
owning  the  turtler  had  performed  his  part  of  the  charter, 
and  he  sailed  away,  leaving  me  dependent  upon  the  ar- 
rival of  the  mail-boat.  She  might  get  here  any  time 
during  the  week,  as  her  movements  were  erratic,  and  her 
master  unreliable.  I  wanted  to  spend  all  the  time  possi- 
ble at  the  north  coast,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  light-house, 
so  a  strict  watch  was  kept  from  the  light-house  tower  for 
the  first  signs  of  her  approach.  Early  on  the  morning 
of  the  fifth  day,  the  mail-boat  was  signaled  from  the 

104 


THROUGH    THE   BAHAMA   ISLES. 


105 


tower,  and  I  tore  myself  away  from  the  fascinating  spot, 
regained  our  boat,  which  we  had  left  lying  in  the  mud  of 
the  lagoon,  and  hastened  for  the  settlement  at  Cockburn 
Town. 

Half-way  down  the  lagoon  we  met  a  large  boat  filled 
with  laborers  going  to  their  "  farms,"  as  they  call  the 
bare  spaces  of  rock  divested  of  all  vegetation,  which 
they  try  to  cultivate.  The  boat  was  filled  with  women, 
for  the  men  are  nearly  all  engaged  on  the  sea.     When 


NATIVES   OF    WATLING'S   ISLAND. 

{Not  found  by  Columbus.) 

they  learned  that  the  "mail  "  was  coming,  nearly  all  of 
them  wished  me  to  give  them  passage  in  my  small  boat 
to  the  town;  for  nearly  all  had  friends  or  relatives  on 
board.  In  my  opinion,  my  craft  had  room  for  only  one 
more,  and  I  so  told  them ;  but  in  spite  of  my  state- 
ment a  woman  and  a  baby  got  in,  and  then  the  mother 
declared  her  little  boy  must  go,  too.  These  accessions 
to  my  passenger  list  filled  the  boat  to  overflowing,  so  I 


106 


IN    THE    WAKE    OF   COLUMBUS. 


sternly  forbade  any  more  entering  the  craft,  and  shoved 
away,  leaving  one  young  negress  almost  suspended  in 
mid-air  in  her  frantic  endeavors  to  board  us. 

Arrived  at  the  town,  I  found  the  master  of  the  Ar- 
gosy, as  the  mail 
vessel  was  named, 
fuming  at  the  de- 
lay; but  he  waited 
until  I  got  my  ef- 
fects together,  and 
at  noon  we  were 
sailing  southwest 
to  Rum  Cay.  It 
was  hot,  of  course, 
at  high  noon,  as 
in  fact  it  is  at 
any  time  between 
eight  in  the  morn- 
ing and  five  in  the 
evening ,  but  all 
among  these  islands  the  shores  are  bathed  in  the  limpid 
waters  described  by  Columbus,  and  the  atmosphere  is 
bland.  At  last,  the  white  sands  flashed  a  final  fare- 
well, the  crimson  bloom  of  the  flame-trees  became 
merged  in  the  sky-line,  turning  the  sunset  clouds  to 
pink,  and  Guanahani  faded  from  my  sight. 

Coincident  with  its  disappearance,  Rum  Cay  rose, 
boldly  outlined,  and  at  dusk  we  anchored  in  behind  the 
reefs.  A  sad  little  town  sits  here,  by  the  white  sand 
beach ;  its  ruling  people  are  blacks,  its  ambitions  long 
since  crushed,  its  future  like  the  people  —  black. 


PUSHING    THROUGH     THE     CANAL,    WATLING'S 
ISLAND. 


THROUGH    THE    BAHAMA    ISLES.  107 

After  touching  at  Long  Island,  we  reached  Cat  Island 
at  dawn,  and  lay  there  all  day,  for  no  reason  except  that 
the  captain  did  not  want  to  reach  the  home  port  before 
Sunday.  The  sun  poured  down  a  fiery  flood  of  torment 
all  day  long.  I  could  get  no  other  shelter  than  the 
shadow  of  the  main-boom  —  which  was  barely  enough 
to  cover  my  hat  —  and  to  retain  even  this  slight  protec- 
tion, I  was  compelled  to  dodge  from  side  to  side  at  every 
motion  of  the  vessel.  Under  the  circumstances,  I  did 
not  consider  a  request  for  an  awning,  or  the  shelter  of  a 
sail,  as  unreasonable;  but  when  I  proffered  it,  he  turned 
upon  me  with :  "  I'se  got  a  yawning  aboard,  but  I  won't 
humbug  wid  it,  to  please  nobody. " 

I  expostulated,  of  course,  for  even  a  white  man  has 
feelings;  but  the  only  answer  I  got  was,  that  others  had 
lived  throiigh  it,  and  he  guessed  I  could.  My  every 
entreaty  failed  to  move  him.  Fortunately,  some  men 
came  aboard  who  knew  of  a  cave  in  the  cliffs  on  shore, 
and  took  me  to  it,  where  I  found  some  human  bones,  relics 
of  the  Lucayos,  who  inhabited  here  at  the  time  Colum- 
bus came.  Some  have  claimed,  as  we  have  read, 
that  Cat  Island  is  the  true  Guanahani ;  but,  as  I  have 
set  forth  in  my  chapter  on  the  landfall,  the  proofs  are 
wanting.  In  the  Bahamas,  the  question  of  "the  first 
land "  is  mostly  a  matter  of  local  feeling.  As  the 
American  Consul  at  Nassau  once  observed  to  me :  ' '  The 
generally  accepted  opinion  here  is  in  favor  of  Watling's, 
except  at  Cat,  where  the  people  are  outraged  that  any 
place  could  be  thought  of  except  their  own  island. " 

Off  the  "Bight,"  the  port  at  Cat  Island  at  which 
we  called,  there  was  no  sign  of  life  ashore.     One  saw 


108 


IN  THE   WAKE  OF   COLUMBUS. 


here,  as  in  all  the  islands,  blue  water,  glaring  yellow 
sands,  a  narrow  belt  of  far-extending  reefs,  very  low 
hills  without  attractive  vegetation,  and  a  line  of  forlorn 
huts  and  houses  near  the  beach.  The  chief  production 
of  the  island  is  the  pineapple,  which  is  shipped  in  large 
quantities  to  Nassau  and  New  York. 

I  met  some  charming  people  ashore :  the  clergyman, 
the  resident   magistrate,   and    their   wives;    they  were 


J^^.-  _6c<we'<mCfcV"W\ 


CAVE   ON   CAT   ISLAND. 


very  kind  during  my  brief  stay,  and,  with  one  or  two 
exceptions,  were  the  first  white  people  I  had  seen  in 
two  weeks.  The  white  person,  in  truth,  is  a  rara  avis 
in  the  out-islands,  being  almost  as  scarce  as  the  white 
blackbird  is  in  nature.      With  the  exception  of  the  resi- 


THROUGH    THE    BAHAMA    ISLES.  109 

dent  magistrate,  and  sometimes  the  collector,  one  finds 
none  but  the  black  man  "  on  deck."  The  speech  shows 
the  trail  of  the  African  serpent,  even  in  the  mouths  of 
preachers  and  teachers,  who  are  nearly  all  black  or 
colored.  Aside  from  the  amenities  of  the  climate,  and 
the  delights  of  bathing,  boating  and  hunting,  there  is 
little  to  tempt  a  person  of  sensibility  and  sympathetic 
nature  to  these  islands;  and  to  consign  one  here  to  fill 
out  the  measure  of  his  existence,  would  be  the  crushing 
out  of  ambition  and  healthful  zest  in  life. 

A  night's  run  brought  us  within  sight  of  the  island  of 
New  Providence,  on  which  is  the  Bahama  capital,  Nas- 
sau. Here  my  disagreeable  boat  trip  was  to  termi- 
nate, and  here  I  should  find  the  elegant  steamers  of  the 
Ward  Line,  running  to  New  York.  The  captain  of  the 
Argosy,  whatever  his  failings  as  a  man,  was  a  good 
navigator;  he  had  brought  us  safely  through  the  intri- 
cate and  shallow  channels  of  Exuma  Sound  on  a  dark 
night,  without  a  fault.  We  were  all  delighted  to  view 
the  promised  haven :  my  black  companions,  as  well  as 
the  dogs,  the  pigs,  the  cows,  and  the  hens,  all  of  whom 
had  enjoyed  the  run  of  the  deck  and  the  cabin  equally 
with  myself. 

In  the  intense  heat  of  noon,  I  made  my  way  to  a 
boarding-house,  and  sat  down  to  await  the  arrival  of  the 
north-bound  steamer.  Meeting  at  Nassau  many  delight- 
ful people,  the  time  passed  pleasantly,  although  the 
regular  season  was  long  since  over,  it  being  then  the 
last  of  July. 

The  Governor,  Sir  Ambrose  Shea,  was  unfortunately 
absent   from  the  island,  having  been   called   to   New- 


110 


IN   THE   WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 


foundland  by  the  disastrous  fire  which  occurred  there 
in  July;  otherwise  I  should  have  had  the  pleasure  of 
meeting  this  distinguished  gentleman,  who  has  attempted 
so  much  toward  improving  the  condition  of  the  Bahamas. 
My  mission  to  him,  as  the  head  of  the  Government,  was 


ON   THK    REACH   OF    WATLINO'S   ISLAND. 
(Looking  for  the  landing-place  of  Columbus.) 

to  induce,  if  possible,  the  Bahamas  to  co-operate  with 
us  at  the  Exposition ;  in  his  absence  I  was  referred  to 
the  Hon.  H.  M.  Jackson,  Colonial  Secretary,  and  then 
acting  Governor.  This  gentleman  has  had  a  wide  ex- 
perience in  colonial  affairs,  and  I  am  sure  it  was  not 
due  to  his  lack  of   ability  that   the   Bahamas  did  not 


THROUGH   THE   BAHAMA   ISLES.  HI 

accept  our  invitation,  and  do  themselves  the  honor  of 
participating  in  the  benefits  of  this  great  occasion. 

It  would  seem  that  was  Bahama's  opportunity  to 
emerge  from  a  seclusion  of  centuries,  and  show  to  the 
world  what  she  had  worth  the  world's  cognizance ; 
but  her  rulers  decided  otherwise.  Her  Governor  has 
spent  a  great  deal  of  money,  and  dilated  a  great  deal 
upon  the  future  of  these  beautiful  islands ;  he  has  made 
frantic  efforts  to  induce  investments  of  foreign  capital, 
especially  in  the  culture  of  hemp  (the  agave),  and  to 
call  attention  to  the  advantages  offered  as  a  winter 
resort.  And  now,  to  refuse  the  one  opportunity  of  the 
century  to  make  known  all  these  desirable  things,  by 
sending  to  Chicago  a  representative  exhibit  of  Bahama's 
resources,  was,  in  my  opinion  (and  with  all  respect  due 
to  one  of  His  Excellency's  age  and  exalted  station),  the 
depth  of  foolishness  and  absurdity.  It  reminded  me, 
as  I  stated  to  the  officials  at  the  time,  of  a  merchant 
who  should  stock  his  warehouses  with  a  varied  assort- 
ment of  attractive  goods,  spending  upon  their  accumu- 
lation the  bulk  of  his  capital,  and  then  close  his  doors 
and  shutters,  and  refuse  to  advertise.  The  Bahamas 
are  dependent  entirely  upon  the  United  States  for  their 
very  life,  and  from  mere  contiguity,  in  common  with 
all  the  West  Indian  islands,  their  future  is  bound  up 
with  ours. 

The  truth  may  as  well  be  told  now —  for  it  is  the  truth, 
and  will  eventually  "out:  "  all  these  islands  are  suffer- 
ing from  the  dry-rot  of  foreign  domination. 

Whatever  England  may  have  been  to  her  colonial 
possessions  in  the  past  —  and  it  cannot  be  denied  that 


112  IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMKUS. 

she  spent  unrequited  treasure,  and  shed  unstinted  the 
blood  of  her  bravest  men  in  acquiring  and  defending 
these  possessions  —  she  is  no  longer  necessary  to  them 
now.  More  than  that:  she  is  a  clog  upon  their  pro- 
gress, retarding  their  development,  and  draining  their 
life-blood;  first,  owing  to  her  inability  to  provide  for 
them  a  lucrative  commerce,  through  distance,  and  a 
meager  market;  second,  through  the  immense  army  of 
officials  saddled  upon  an  unwilling  people,  in  spite  of 
their  protests.  Personally,  I  must  confess  to  an  admi- 
ration of  the  English  in  official  station  in  the  West  In- 
dies; I  am  well  aware  of  their  probity,  and  I  know  that 
they  have  operated  to  prevent  many  an  island  from 
lapsing  into  semi-barbarism ;  it  will  be  a  dark  day  on 
the  page  of  civilization  when  England's  cordon  of  sol- 
diers is  withdrawn  again  unto  herself.  But,  in  spite  of 
herself,  England's  effect  upon  the  West  Indian  is  retard- 
ative,  even  retrogressive;  if  she  had  done  nothing  more 
than  inflict  upon  an  innocent  people  her  archaic  and 
monstrous  monetary  nomenclature  and  system,  it  would 
be  sufficient.  Locally,  they  have  broken  with  their 
traditions  on  this  score,  and  have  substituted  our  own 
decimal  system,  to  the  great  saving  of  time  and  friction 
of  conscience;  but,  through  the  colonial  banks,  they 
still  cling  to  pound-shilling-and-pence  in  their  dealings 
with  the  "mother-country,"  and  suffer  their  aesthetic 
sense  to  be  violated  through  a  circulation  of  bank-notes 
that  would  discredit  even  our  provincial  currency  of  a 
century  ago. 

To  turn  from  this  subject  to  one  less  likely  to  irritate 
my  good  friends  in  the  Bahamas:  I  recall  an  incident  of 


THROUGH    THE   BAHAMA   ISLES.  113 

a  previous  trip,  showing  that  the  Bahama  darkies  do 
not  discriminate  against  us  on  account  of  difference 
of  silver,  but  accept  with  equal  readiness  English  or 
American. 

I  was  going  about  one  day,  with  my  camera,  when 
I  was  hailed  by  a  group  of  divers,  huddled  together 
on  the  wharf: 

"  Say,  boss,  don'  you  wan'  t'row  a  nickel  in  de 
watah?  " 

"What  for  ?" 

"Wha'  fo'  ?  Why,  fo'  see  um  grab  um,  fo'  he  sink 
to  de  bottom." 

"  No;  I've  seen  that  too  often,  but  I'll  do  better  than 
that;  I'll  give  you  ten  cents  each,  if  you'll  do  as  I  tell 
you." 

"Golly,  boss;  we'll  do  dat,  you  jes'  bet.  Now  wha' 
yo'  wan'  ? " 

"Well,  I  want  to  take  three  photographs  of  you  all: 
one  on  the  wharf,  one  in  the  air,  and  another  in  the 
water.      Now  get  ready. " 

"  Yis,  boss;  wese  all  ready."  They  were,  in  fact, 
always  ready,  having  nothing  on  but  the  airiest  of  cloth- 
ing and  an  expansive  grin. 

"Very  well ;  are  you  sure  you're  ready  ?  " 

"  O,  yis!  wese  a'ready  an'  waitin';  yo'  jes'  gib  de 
word." 

I  gave  the  word:  "One,  two" — intending  to  start 
them  at  "three  " ;  but  they  were  so  eager  that  all  went 
into  the  air  at  "two,"  —  and  the  result  was  not  exactly 
as  intended. 

But  I  got  a  snap-shot  in   mid-air,   and  afterward  in 


114 


IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 


the  water,  where  their  heads  bobbed  about  just  like  so 
many  black  Jack-o'-lanterns.  They  are  jolly  little  fel- 
lows, these  darky  divers,  and  enliven  the  tedium  of 
many  a  wait  at  the  wharves. 

One  meets  with  these  divers  almost  everywhere  in 
the  West  Indies,  but  in  Nassau  and  St.  Thomas  they 
are   most   numerous  and  proficient.     When    diving   in 


THE    SILK  COTTON-TREE 


open  water,  they  would  seem  to  be  in  danger  from 
sharks,  but  I  never  heard  of  an  instance  of  disaster.  In 
St.  Thomas,  I  remember,  one  of  these  boys  was  seen  to 
coolly  kick  a  shark  aside,  that  had  come  up  close  to  a 
coin  he  was  diving  after,  and  the  great  fish  swam  off  in 
apparent  alarm. 


THROUGH    THE    BAHAMA   ISLES.  115 

In  his  journeyings  in  these  out-islands  one  finds  many 
strange  people.  Just  before  my  arrival  at  Fortune 
Island,  there  had  died  a  man  with  an  idiosyncracy  that 
made  him  locally  noted.  For  many  years  he  dressed 
as  a  woman,  wearing  the  petticoats  with  all  the  grace 
attainable,  and  taking  great  pleasure  in  being  addressed 
as  "Miss  Nancy."  And  as  "Miss  Nancy"  he  finally 
became  known,  no  one  thinking  of  calling'  him  anything 
else. 

He  led  a  harmless,  blameless  life,  always  taking  a 
great  interest  in  the  church,  and  at  his  death  leaving 
quite  a  little  property  for  its  maintenance.  He  was 
everywhere  respected,  and  although  he  wore  a  full 
beard,  no  one  seemed  to  notice  the  incongruity. 

The  American  Consul,  Mr.  McLain,  who  has  resided 
in  Nassau  these  many  years,  assisted  me  to  the  best  of 
his  ability,  and  made  my  stay  agreeable. 

The  Vice-Consul,  Mr.  H.  R.  Saunders,  was  indefati- 
gable in  his  efforts  to  inspire  the  business  men  with  a 
sense  of  their  responsibilities  in  the  matter  of  exhibits, 
and  addressed  letters  to  all  the  out-islands  requesting 
contributions  to  the  ethnological  collection  I  was  en- 
deavoring to  form. 

Everybody  knows,  of  course;  of  the  numerous  attrac- 
tions of  Nassau :  of  its  beautiful  roads  and  drives, 
its  delightful  winter  climate,  the  wonderful  "  sea-gar- 
dens "  in  the  sound  adjacent,  the  "  Queen's  Staircase ' 
— which  Her  Majesty  never  saw  —  the  magnificent  silk- 
cotton  in  the  court-house  yard,  and  the  Columbus  statue. 
Regarded  simply  as  a  work  of  art,  this  statue  in  the 
Government  grounds  must  be  pronounced  a  failure ;  but 


110 


IX    THE    WAKE    OF    COLUMBUS. 


there  is  a  story  told  anent  its  landing-,  which  may  bear 
repeating,  perhaps,  as  it  illustrates  the  misapprehensions 
in  the  black  man's  mind  regarding  the  great  Navigator. 

I  remember  the  ques- 
tion of  the  old  darky, 
who  took  me  in  his 
"turtler"  over  to  Wat- 
ling's  Island,  on  learn- 
ing that  I  was  in  search 
of  information  of  Co- 
lumbus : 

"  Say,    boss,    who    is 
dis  ole  man  Columbia? 
Ise   been   sailing  here- 
about dese   forty  year, 
an'  Ise  neber  see  him !  " 
But    the    story    they 
relate   of   his    colored 
brother  in  Nassau  shows 
a  better  knowledge  of  historical  events,  and  is  as  follows : 
Scene,  court-room;   lawyer  for   defense  attempting  to 
impeach  veracity  of  a  witness  on  side  of  plaintiff.     "  So 
you  say  you've  lived  here  many  years'  " 
"  Yis,  boss." 

"Then  I  suppose  you  can  remember  when  Columbus 
landed  here. " 

"O,  yis,  boss!  I  'members  dat  'stinckly. * 

"You  do?" 

"Yis,  sah." 

"And  you're  sure  you  do?" 

"Suttenly,  boss." 


STATUE   of   COLUMBUS — FROST    VIEW. 


THROUGH   THE   BAHAMA   ISLES. 


W, 


"That  will  do.  Your  Honor,  this  witness's  memory 
is  evidently  out  of  order,  and  I  claim  a  verdict  for  the 
defense. " 

The  judge  was  of  his  opinion  also,  when  the  plaintiff's 
lawyer  rose  to  the  occasion.  "  Wait  a  moment,  gentle- 
men, perhaps  the  witness  is  not  so  far  wrong.  Now, 
Cuffie,  when  was  it  you  saw  Columtms  land,  and  how  did 
he  come  ashore?" 

''Well,  boss,  I  t'ink  'twas  'bout'  31,  an'  C'lumbus  he 
come  shore  in  de  big  boxes.  " 

The  lawyer  for  plaintiff  claimed,  and  obtained,  the 
verdict. 

As  I  have  intimated,  travel 
in  the  Bahamas  has   not   ar- 
rived at  that  point  of  perfec- 
tion the  visitor  might  desire,  ^F  ,  ;,v 
and  before    Nassau    becomes         figf 
the   great  and  popular  resort        «a!R|: 
for  winter  tourists,  steam  com- 
munication   must    be    estab- 
lished between  the  islands.                wSSSk  \  V 

The  islands,  rocks  and  cays        ^«Bh-'' 
of   the  Bahama  chain  aggre-       ^8        \^w 
gate    some    three    thousand; 
they  stretch    from  Florida  to 
Haiti,  and  are  uniformly*  level, 

J  STATUE     OF     COLUMBUS  —  REAR 

the  highest  elevation  not  ex-  view. 

ceeding   three   hundred   feet. 

Their  formation  is  the  same  throughout:  "calcareous 
rock  of  coral  and  shell  hardened  into  limestone,  honey- 
combed and  perforated,  with  innumerable  cavities,  and 


118  IN   THE   WAKE    OF   COLUMBUS. 

without  a  trace  of  primitive  rock.  The  soil,  though  thin, 
is  astonishingly  fertile,  and  vegetation  grows  luxuri- 
antly."  The  population  is  from  forty-five  thousand  to 
fifty  thousand ;  about  one  third  of  the  whole  number  be- 
ing white.  For  many  years  after  their  discovery,  the 
Bahamas  were  unvisited,  the  attention  of  the  Spaniards 
being  directed  to  the  richer  islands  to  the  south,  and 
to  Mexico  and  Peru.  They  returned  hither  for  slaves, 
but  made  no  settlements.  In  15 12,  Ponce  de  Leon 
threaded  the  chain  in  search  of  the  Fountain  of  Youth 
—  which,  by  the  way,  is  said  to  be  in  the  island  of 
Bimini  — but  the  first  settlement  was  made  by  the  Eng- 
lish, in  1629.  They  were  dispossessed,  and  the  islands 
were  a  battle  ground  between  the  English  and  Spanish 
residents. 

Then  the  buccaneers  made  them  their  rendezvous 
until  after  the  Revolution ;  since  that  event  Great  Brit- 
ain has  held  them  undisturbed.  The  first  inhabitants 
lived  by  buccaneering,  piracy  and  smuggling,  varying 
their  pursuits,  later  on,  by  wrecking;  this  occupation, 
however,  they  have  at  length  reluctantly  abandoned ; 
and  there  are  many  to-day  who  regard  the  light-houses 
with  undisguised  resentment,  saying  that  they,  by  pre- 
venting wrecks,  take  the  bread  out  of  their  mouths.  But 
the  good  old  times  are  gone,  never  to  return,  and  the 
former  wreckers  now  have  to  turn  to  sponging,  turtling 
and  conching,  sometimes  making  great  haids.  Among 
these  islands,  and  only  here,  I  believe,  the  famous  pink 
pearl  is  found;  it  is  highly  prized,  and  sometimes 
brings  enormous  prices.  About  Crooked  and  Acklin 
Islands  the  conchs  are  found  in  great  quantities,  and 


THROUGH   THE    BAHAMA    ISLES. 


119 


I  procured  a  very  pretty  pearl  from  a  fisherman  at  Wat- 
ling's  Island. 

Not  alone  are  the  shells  of  the  Bahamas  beautiful, 
the  tropical  fish,  as  well,  disport  the  brightest  colors. 
These  were  particularly  described  by  Columbus,  who 
was  attracted  by  them ;  and  one  should  see  them  swim- 
ming amongst  the  coral  branches,   flashing   silver-like 


MBilllil  

GUANAHANI,    OR   WATLING'S    ISLAND  —  LADY    BLAKE'S   AQUARELLE. 

gleams  from  their  sides,  and  streaking  the  clear  water 
with  bright  colors,  to  appreciate  his  enthusiasm.  Aside 
from  the  sea-products,  Nature  has  been  prodigal  with 
her  gifts  on  land,  for  though  the  soil  is  scant,  the  wild- 
flowers  bloom  in  myriads.  The  talented  wife  of  Sir 
Henry  Blake,  when  residing  in  the  Bahamas,  made  a 
series  of  drawings  that  embraced  nearly  all  the  wild 
flowers   known   to   the   islands,    and   exhibited   at   the 


120  IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

Jamaica  exhibition  above  a  hundred  beautiful  varieties. 
There  are  also  many  woods  useful  in  the  arts  and  materia 
medica,  as  well  as  all  the  fruits  of  the  tropic  zone.  All 
this  information  is,  I  fear,  more  or  less  encyclopaedic, 
and  may  be  found  in  the  guide-books;  I  would  like  my 
own  work  to  be  as  free  as  possible  from  the  common- 
place; but  if  now  and  then  I  lapse  into  the  statistical,  it 
is  only  from  a  conscientious  desire  to  be  thorough. 

The  steamers  of  the  Ward  Line  are  perhaps  the  best 
known  of  any  that  ply  between  New  York,  the  Baha- 
mas, and  Cuban  ports ;  were  it  not  for  them  these  islands 
would,  indeed,  be  badly  off.  I  had  sighted  the  Santiago 
of  this  line  on  her  southward  course,  just  off  Rum  Cay, 
passing  almost  within  hail,  but  it  was  nearly  two  weeks 
before  she  returned  to  Nassau  from  the  south  ports  of 
Cuba.  I  then  embarked  on  her  for  New  York.  But 
although  I  returned  to  the  States,  and  shortly  after 
terminated  my  labors  for  the  Exposition,  my  narrative 
does  not  conclude  here,  as  I  have  taken  my  last  adven- 
tures first,  in  order  to  have  them  in  sequence  with  the 
route  followed  by  Columbus. 


VI. 


THE    COMMISSIONER  S    MISSION    TO    CUBA. 


WHEN  I  received 
my  commission 
as  special  representa- 
tive of  the  World's 
Columbian  Exposition, 
I  was  engaged  in  my 
profession  of  lecturing, 
and  had  "dates"  in 
various  parts  of  the 
country  for  the  entire 
season.  These  I  was 
obliged  to  cancel,  of 
course,  giving  two 
months'  notice,  and  my 
last  lecture  was  deliv- 
ered in  Newton,  Massa- 
chusetts, the  last  night 
of  December,  1890.  It 
was  concluded  at  half- 
past  nine;  that  night,  at  eleven,  I  was  on  board  a  train 
bound  for  Washington,  which  city  I  reached  at  three  the 

121 


TABLET  BUST  IN  CATHEDRAL  AT  HAVANA, 
IN    MEMORY    OF    COLUMBUS. 


122  IN    THE    WAKE    OF   COLUiMBUS. 

next  afternoon,  received  my  instructions  from  the  chief  of 
the  Latin- American  Department,  and  at  eight  o'clock  that 
evening  took  the  train  again  for  Chicago.  There  were 
nine  of  us,  all  newly-appointed  Commissioners,  each  one 
assigned  to  a  separate  province  of  the  West  Indies,  Cen- 
tral or  South  America,  and  all  combined  were  to  in- 
clude the  whole  of  that  vast  region  lying  between  the 
United  States  and  Patagonia :  to  cover  the  countries  of 
America  south  of  us,  from  the  frozen  North  to  the  Land 
of  Fire.  Arrived  at  Chicago  the  following  night,  we 
were  taken  to  the  Palmer  House,  where  quarters  had 
been  engaged  for  us,  and  the  next  day  paid  our  respects 
to  the  Director-General  of  the  Exposition,  and  to  the 
officials  comprising  the  executive  department,  by  whom 
we  were  taken  in  charge  and  instructed  as  to  our  duties. 

That  afternoon  we  met  the  African  explorer  Stanle)', 
at  a  reception  at  the  rooms  of  the  Union  League  Club, 
listened  to  one  of  his  lectures  in  the  evening,  seated  on 
the  stage  of  the  vast  auditorium,  and  were  entertained 
at  a  dinner  given  by  one  of  the  directors.  Dinners  and 
receptions  followed  swiftly  after,  and  we  had  a  taste  of 
that  hospitality  for  which  the  great  Western  city  is 
celebrated ;  and  if  it  was  the  intention  of  our  friends  to 
make  us  sensible  of  the  joys  we  were  soon  to  leave 
behind  us,  and  extremely  loath  to  turn  our  unwilling 
feet  toward  the  fields  of  our  labors,  they  succeeded 
admirably. 

One  day  we  were  taken  to  the  park,  and  shown  the 
sites  of  the  buildings  that  have  since  been  erected ;  the 
next  we  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  the  talented  Presi- 
dent of  the  Ladies'  Board,  and  receiving  from  her  infor- 


THE   COMMISSIONER'S    MISSION    TO  CUBA.         L23 

matioE  for  our  guidance  in  soliciting  exhibits  for  the 
Women's  Department;  and  we  were  impressed  with  the 
fact  (since  so  conclusively  confirmed)  that  her  plans  were 
wise,  far-reaching,  and  well  matured  m  advance.  The 
ladies  of  the  Women's  Board  were  extremely  anxious  to 
reach  and  develop  any  latent  resource  of  their  sisters  in 
Latin  America, and  we  promised  our  active  co-operation. 

A  week  passed  pleasantly,  during  which  we  became 
thoroughly  imbued  with  the  true  Chicago  spirit  of  energy 
and  enterprise;  then,  having-  become  acquainted  with  the 
aims,  purposes  and  comprehensive  projects  of  the  exe- 
cutives of  the  great  Exposition,  we  hastened  away  to  our 
respective  fields. 

Within  a  month  we  were  scattered  all  over  the  south- 
ern continent  and  adjacent  islands;  were  preaching  the 
Exposition  gospel  in  half  a  dozen  different  languages, 
and  expounding  to  a  dozen  different  governments  the 
greatness  of  the  American  nation,  and  the  greatest  of 
all  its  undertakings.  We  had  been  impressed  with  the 
ability  and  energy  of  our  chiefs,  and  it  was  evident  to 
us  that  they  had  a  grasp  of  the  situation  that  was  per- 
fectly amazing;  guiding  us,  directing  us,  following  every 
movement  and  anticipating  every  need,  with  an  intelli- 
gent comprehension  of  our  wants  that  was  wonderful. 
Inspired,  then,  with  the  importance  of  our  mission,  in 
behalf  of  the  greatest  exhibition  of  the  world's  history, 
and  supported  by  the  sympathetic  co-operation  of  our 
superiors  in  office,  we  could  not  but  share  in  their  en- 
thusiasm. If  any  of  us  failed  in  our  endeavors,  it  was 
not  because  of  lack  of  support  at  Chicago,  nor  from  any 
faults  of  our  chiefs. 


124  IN    THE    WAKE    OF    COLUMBUS. 

I  was  one  of  the  first  in  the  field,  as  my  province  lay 
contiguous,  in  a  measure,  to  our  own  country.  I  was 
furnished  with  elaborate  "instructions"  for  my  guid- 
ance, of  which  the  following  is  an  abstract : 


To  Frederick  A.  Oder,  Esq., 

Commissioner  to  the  West  Indies. 

Sir  :  — You  have  been  designed  for  duty  under  the  Department 
of  State,  in  connection  with  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition,  as  a 
Commissioner  to  the  West  Indian  Islands.  The  success  of  your  mission 
will  depend  upon  your  own  energy  and  discretion,  but  for  your  general 
guidance  in  the  performance  of  your  duties,  1  am  directed  by  the  Secre- 
tary of  State  to  hand  you  the  following  instructions  : 

i.  You  will  proceed  at  your  earliest  convenience  to  visit  the  several 
West  Indian  Islands,  and  upon  your  arrival  at  the  principal  cities  thereof 
will  report  yourself  to  the  Consuls  of  the  United  States,  to  whom  you 
will  be  furnished  letters  of  introduction  and  commendation.  These  offi- 
cials will  be  directed  to  assist  you,  and  promote  the  object  of  your  mis- 
sion in  every  possible  wav,  and  will  present  you  to  the  Governor  or  Chief 
Magistrate  of  the  colony  in  which  they  reside. 

2.  Your  first  duty  will  be  to  explain  fully  to  the  proper  officials  of  the 
islands  you  visit  the  plan  and  scope  of  the  Exposition,  express  to  them 
the  desire  of  the  Government  and  people  of  the  United  States  that  all 
of  the  islands  shall  be  adequately  represented,  and  ask  their  aid  in  secur- 
ing the  co-operation  of  commerical  organizations  and  the  public  at  large 
in  obtaining  as  complete  an  exhibit  as  possible. 

It  will  be  necessary,  also,  to  secure  the  publication,  as  widelv  as  pos- 
sible, under  the  official  sanction,  of  the  plan  and  classification  of  the 
Latin-American  Department,  the  arrangements  for  transportation,  care 
and  custody  of  exhibits,  and  such  other  information  as  may  be  useful 
and  interesting  to  possible  exhibitors  and  the  public  generally.  To  this 
end  it  is  essential  that  you  place  yourself  at  once  in  communication  with 
the  newspapers,  and  furnish  them  from  time  to  time  with  such  matter  as 
they  may  be  willing  to  publish.  ...  It  is  of  course  desirable  that 
every  one  of  the  islands  should  appoint  Commissioners  to  the  Exposi- 
tion, furnish  their  own  buildings,  and  make  as  large  a  display  as  possible 


PALM    AVENUE. 


THE   COMMISSIONER'S    MISSION   TO   CUBA.         127 

of  their  own  resources,  their  industries  and  products.  This  matter  should 
be  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  several  Governments  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible, and  cannot  be  too  strongly  urged ;  and  in  case  such  Commis- 
sioners are  appointed,  you  will  afford  them  all  the  information  and 
assistance  in  your  power.  ...  If  they  cannot  be  induced  to  erect 
their  own  buildings,  you  are  authorized  to  inform  the  proper  officials 
and  probable  exhibitors  that  all  the  space  they  may  need  will  be  reserved 
for  them,  under  the  printed  regulations  furnished  you  by  the  Director- 
General.  .  .  .  You  will  inform  yourself  fully  before  starting  upon 
vour  mission  as  to  the  customs  regulations  regarding  the  importation 
of  goods  intended  for  exhibition,  so  as  to  explain  them  intelligently  to 
exhibitors,  and  will  be  furnished  with  printed  forms  prepared  at  the 
Treasury  Department.  .  .  .  You  will  place  yourself  at  once  in  com- 
munication with  directors  of  museums,  botanical  gardens,  scientific  so- 
cieties, etc.,  and  secure  from  them  such  collections  as  they  maybe  willing 
to  furnish.  .  .  .  The  local  museums  doubtless  contain  valuable 
archaeological  and  historical  collections,  and  it  is  desirable  that  what- 
ever is  interesting  should  be  transported  to  Chicago,  and  you  will  take 
steps  to  induce  the  Governments  to  include  them  in  their  exhibits,  as 
illustrative  of  the  history  of  the  islands.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  speak 
of  the  desirability  of  securing  exhibits  illustrating  the  peculiar  institu- 
tions, as  well  as  the  habits  and  customs  of  the  people.  You  can  furnish 
valuable  assistance  to  the  Government  in  securing,  classifying  and  mount 
ing  these  exhibits  ;  and  you  may  also  be  able  to  obtain  their  assistance 
in  making  archaeological  investigations  to  secure  fresh  collections. 
.  .  .  You  will  be  good  enough  to  make  as  many  photographs  as  pos- 
sible of  objects  of  interest  noticed  in  your  travels,  as  the  educational 
value  of  a  collection  showing  the  homes,  customs,  and  daily  life  of  the 
people,  cannot  be  overestimated.  .  .  .  While  the  details  of  routes 
of  travel  are  left  entirely  to  your  discretion,  it  would  seem  advisable  for 
you  to  visit  the  most  unhealthy  of  the  islands  during  the  winter  season  ; 
but  you  will  kindly  report  your  movements  and  plans  to  this  office  as 
regularly  as  practicable,  and  you  will  be  furnished  with  a  cable  code,  tc 
be  used  in  cases  of  emergency.  .  .  .  The  West  Indies  are  rich  in 
fiber  plants,  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  medicinal  plants,  barks,  roots, 
seeds  and  flowers,  which  should  in  every  case  be  labeled  with  care,  and 
there  should  be  full  explanations  in  your  note-books  of  the  local  methods 
of  preparing  and  applying  the  same,  as  well  as  the  diseases  for  which  they 


128  IN   THE    WAKE    OF   COLUMBUS. 

are  remedies.     Superstitions  and  legends  connected  with  such  plants  are 
always  interesting,  and  often  valuable." 

Equally  full  and  complete  were  my  instructions 
regarding  the  woods  of  the  West  Indies,  the  miner- 
als, mining  operations,  manufactures:  in  fact,  every 
province  of  nature,  art  and  science,  was  exhaustively 
presented,  showing  with  what  thoroughness  my  chief 
had  prepared  for  the  important  work.  Nor  was  the 
commercial  world  overlooked,  as  the  following  excerpt 
shows  : 

"  As  one  of  the  important  objects  of  the  Exposition  is  to  promote  com- 
mercial intercourse,  it  is  desirable  to  secure,  for  the  information  of  the 
merchants  and  manufacturers  of  the  United  States,  a  complete  display, 
showing  the  various  classes  of  merchandise  consumed  and  desired  by 
the  people  of  your  province,  the  patterns  and  designs  most  preferred, 
the  best  methods  of  packing  and  preparing,  practical  illustrations  of  the 
obstacles  in  the  way  of  extending  our  trade,  and  the  advantages  that  are 
secured  and  enjoyed  by  European  merchants  in  competition  with  those  of 
our  own  country.    The  value  of  such  an  exhibit  cannot  be  over-estimated." 

And  finally: 

"Your  attention  is  particularly  called  to  that  portion  of  the  Classifica- 
tion which  relates  to  a  collection  of  the  relics  of  Columbus.  The  field 
to  which  you  are  assigned  must  contain  many  things  of  great  value  and 
interest,  and  you  will  devote  your  energies  to  securing  articles  for  this 
collection.  It  is  understood  that  the  ruins  of  the  first  city  founded  by 
Columbus  (Isabella)  are  still  extant,  and  exact  information  is  particularly 
desired.  You  will  be  good  enough  to  investigate  this  subject,  and  report 
to  me  at  your  earliest  opportunity;  and  the  results  to  be  obtained  from 
the  investigation  of  any  other  similar  ruins  and  relics  will  add  greatly  to 
the  interest  of  the  Columbian  Department." 

In  order  that  I  might  be  "instructed"  fully,  and  not 
go  astray  from  lack  of  good  counsel,  I  was  furnished 


THE   COMMISSIONER'S    MISSION   TO   CUBA.         129 

with  lengthy  "instructions  "  from  the  Smithsonian  In- 
stitution, the  Fisheries  Department,  the  Zoological,  and 
Agricultural,  and  finally,  the  Secretary  of  State  sent 
me  letters  to  all  the  Consuls  in  my  domain,  one  letter  to 
each.     They  read  as  follows : 

Washington,  January,  1891. 

To Esq., 

Consul  of  the  United  States  at 

My  Dear  Sir: — I  take  pleasure  in  introducing  to  you  Mr. 
Frederick  A.  Ober,  who,  by  the  President's  direction,  has  been  desig- 
nated as  Special  Commissioner  for  the  purpose  of  interesting  the  Gov- 
ernment and  people  of to  participate  with  the  United  States  in  the 

commemoration  of  the  Discovery  of  America  by  Columbus,  by  holding 
at  the  city  of  Chicago,  in  the  State  of  Illinois,  an  Exposition  of  Arts, 
Sciences,  Manufactures,  and  the  products  of  the  Mine,  Soil  and  Sea. 
Mr.  Ober  will  acquaint  you  with  the  general  instructions  he  bears,  and  will 
consult  with  you  as  to  the  most  convenient  arrangement  for  successfully 
accomplishing  his  mission.  You  will,  by  your  advice  and  counsel,  and 
in  every  proper  way,  aid  Mr.  Ober  in  securing  the  appointment  of  Com- 
missioners to  represent  the  Government  of at  the  proposed  Exposi- 
tion, and  in  interesting  the  people  of  that  colony  in  presenting  such  a 
display  as  will  fully  and  fitly  illustrate  its  resources,  industries,  and  pro- 
gress in  civilization.  Confidently  expecting  your  cordial  co-operation 
in  the  furtherance  of  Mr.  Ober's  mission,  I  am,  my  dear  sir, 

Very  truly  yours, 


From  the  Director-General  I  had  received,  handsomely 
engraved  on  parchment,  a  "commission"  for  each  of 
the  Governments  within  my  province,  and  as  there  were 


130 


IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 


-'—  '-"***.r\t,   I  Iff, 


CATHEDRAL   STA.    MARIA    DE    LA    CONCEPION. — HAVANA,    CUBA. 

ten  of  these,  all  told,  I  was  well  provided.  My  chief  occu- 
pation, on  rainy  days,  was  the  reading  of  my  "Instruc- 
tions," and  my  chief  concern  was,  how  to  get  rid  of  my 
numerous  "commissions,  "which,  wherever  permissible, 
I  hung  up  on  the  walls  of  the  different  consulates. 


THE   COMMISSIONER'S   MISSION   TO    CUBA.         131 

My  first  field  of  operation  was  Cuba,  which  I  reached 
by  the  new  route  via  Florida,  taking  the  Plant  Line 
steamer  at  Tampa,  and  going  direct  to  Havana.  There 
I  engaged  rooms  at  the  Hotel  Inglaterra,  but  after  a 
week  of  discomfort  removed  to  a  large  boarding-house, 
or  Casa  de  huespcdcs,  on  the  Prado,  near  the  Hotel 
Pasaje. 

I  lost  no  time  in  calling  on  our  Consul-General,  to 
whom  I  had  two  letters ;  one  personal,  the  other  official. 
He  recognized  the  official  letter,  and  one  day  took  me 
to  see  the  Captain-General,  when  I  had  an  opportunity 
to  initiate  my  work  for  Chicago.  The  Captain-General 
received  me  pleasantly  (being  a  Spaniard  he  could  not 
do  otherwise), assured  me  that  he  appreciated  the  honor 
conveyed  in  the  President's  invitation,  and  also  in  the 
fact  that  the  Commissioner  had  brought  it  to  Cuba 
first  of  all  the  islands  assigned  him,  and  promised  his 
hearty  co-operation. 

Some  ten  days  passed  by  before  he  showed  any  signs 
of  co-operating,  and  I  was  beginning  to  get  impatient, 
although  I  had  filled  my  time  by  writing  articles  for  the 
newspapers,  and  had  excited  an  interest  in  the  Exposi- 
tion which  I  did  not  allow  to  flag  during  my  stay,  but 
stimulated  to  the  best  6f  my  ability.  But  when  the 
announcement  did  come  from  His  Excellency,  the  Cap- 
tain-General, that  he  had  appointed  local  Commissioners, 
the  list  he  sent  me  showed  that  he  had  given  the  sub- 
ject deep  thought  and  consideration.  It  showed,  also, 
that  he  had  evidently  intended  to  do  the  "  right  thing  " 
by  all  the  distinguished  gentlemen  of  the  island,  and 
had  included  nearly  everybody  of  importance  on  the 


132  IN    THE    WAKE    OF    COLUMBUS. 

list,  as  the  grand  total  was  twenty-nine.  To  this  num- 
ber he  afterward  added  six  provincial  Commissioners, 
making  thirty-five  in  all,  including  men  from  every 
rank  and  profession,  but  especially  prominent  were  the 
ornamental  members;  for  there  were  two  Marquesses^ 
and  fourteen  Excellent  issimos. 

It  promised  to  be,  I  feared,  rather  "top-heavy"  for 
active  work ;  but  that  was  now  a  matter  beyond  my 
control,  and  besides,  at  the  head  was  a  man  of  energy 
and  fortune,  Senor  Don  A.  C.  Telluria,  a  Biscayan  by 
birth  and  a  self-made  man.  Through  his  activity  and 
enterprise  he  had  gained  control  of  the  lumber  trade  of 
Havana,  and  he  held  high  political  position,  being  one 
of  the  leaders  of  the  conservative  party,  and  president 
of  the  provincial  Deputation.  One  of  the  two  titled 
members  of  the  commission,  the  Marquis  Duquesne,  is 
a  native  of  Cuba,  a  descendant  of  the  French  Admiral 
Duquesne,  and  one  of  the  wealthiest  planters  in  the 
island.  He  had  latterly  taken  an  active  part  in  politi- 
cal affairs,  and  had  recently  been  elected  deputy  from 
Cuba  to  the  Spanish  Cortes.  The  Marquis  de  Balboa 
was  considered  one  of  the  leading  politicians ,  a  vice- 
president  of  the  Conservative  party,  a  Spaniard,  bearing 
a  distinguished  name  and  controlling  a  large  fortune; 
-he  was  very  popular. 

Of  the  others,  one  was  a  poet,  one  an  engineer,  sev- 
eral were  cigar-manufacturers,  making  those  celebrated 
brands  for  which  Cuba  is  famous,  one  was  the  rector  of 
the  university,  one  Alcalde  Municipal,  and  there  were 
four  editors  of  as  many  influential  papers  of  the  city. 
Altogether,  it  was  a  commission  to  be  proud  of.     And  I 


il'/toifj 


THE    COMMISSIONER'S    MISSION   TO    CUBA.         135 

was  proud;  but  I  have  never  yet  learned  that  they  did 
anything  except  to  meet  and  discuss  what  they  were 
going  to  do  —  when  they  did  begin  to  do  anything. 

But  it  pleased  His  Excellency  to  appoint  these  distin- 
guished gentlemen,  it  pleased  them  to  be  appointed,  and 
it  pleased  me  to  learn  that  they  were  appointed ;  and  as 
for  the  newspapers,  they  went  into  raptures  over  the  per- 
sonnel of  the  commission,  the  wisdom  displayed  in  their 


LES    CABANAS. 


selection,  and  the  great  results  likely  to  accrue  to  Cuba 
from  this  renewed  evidence  of  the  friendliness  of  the 
two  countries,  etc.,  etc.  Although  rather  skeptical  as  to 
the  great  results,  yet  I  went  to  work  on  these  lines  laid 
down  for  me  by  my  chief,  keeping  the  papers  informed, 
and  through  them  the  people,  of  the  vast  enterprise 
going  on  in  the  States ;  and  perhaps  I  even  encouraged  a 
little  the  grandiloquent  style  of  the  Exposition  articles, 


136  IN    THE    WAKE   OF    COLUMBUS. 

as  a  better  policy  than  to  express  one's  own  sentiments. 
At  all  events  (strange  as  this  may  appear  to  a  Chica- 
goan),  I  had  first  to  tell  the  Cubanos  where  Chicago  was 
situated  before  informing  them  what  Chicago  was  doing ; 
for  the  average  Havanese  knows  little  of  the  States, 
travel  there  being  confined  to  the  rich,  and  these  only 
being  acquainted  with  the  city  of  New  York  and  Sara- 
toga. The  fact  of  the  Exposition  being  held  at  Chicago 
was  a  good  thing  in  one  respect:  it  made  foreigners 
acquainted  with  portions  of  our  country  of  which  they 
would  otherwise  have  remained  in  ignorance. 

Havana,  as  every  one  knows,  is  delightful  during  a 
portion  of  the  year,  and  disagreeable,  not  to  say  danger- 
ous, to  foreigners  through  the  heated  term  of  the  sum- 
mer months.  It  has  been  described  so  often,  as  well  as 
the  entire  island,  in  fact,  that  I  shall  not  waste  the  time 
of  my  readers  in  repetition.  Even  now,  the  Morro 
stands  at  the  entrance  to  the  harbor,  the  bastioned  for- 
tifications of  the  Cabanas  frown  above  the  bay,  the 
Prado  is  the  principal  promenade,  the  streets  of  the 
older  portion  of  the  city  are  as  dirty  and  as  narrow  as 
ever  they  were,  the  gardens  of  the  Captain-General  are 
as  beautiful,  and  the  alleys  of  palm-trees  as  majestic; 
while  the  people  are  as  various  as  can  be  found  any- 
where throughout  the  islands;  for  they  represent  every 
part  of  Spain,  and  the  mixtures  resulting  from  inter- 
mingling with  the  American  natives.  Spanish  speech 
and  Spanish  customs  prevail,  through  the  preponderance 
of  Spaniards  in  the  body  politic,  and  the  constant  acces- 
sions to  the  popidation  of  soldiers  and  the  crowds  of 
fortune-seekers  from  the  mother-countrv. 


THE   COMMISSIONER'S    MISSION -TO   CUBA. 


137 


There  are  many  fine  old  families  here,  but  the  bulk  of 
the  new  arrivals  are  from  the  lower  classes  of  Spain, 
hard-working  and  thrifty,  but  ignorant.  Cuba,  the  only 
possession  of  value  to  Spain,  of  the  many  she  once  owned 
in  Americans  being  stripped  by  the  rapacious  hordes  that 
have  flocked  here,  and  is  almost  at  the  last  gasp. 

When  I  was  there,  a  treaty  of  reciprocity  was  being 
negotiated  between  Spain  and  the  United  States,  by 
which  it  was  hoped  exhausted  Cuba  would  benefit;  but 
it  is  doubtful  if  she  will  be  accorded  more  than  temporary 
relief,  for  Spain  must  raise  her  revenue  somehow,  and 


^iSfta^. —     ^ 


■ZZr"«"*j  fm 


MORRO    CASTLE—   HARBOR   OF    HAVANA. 


she  has  but  scant  resources  outside  the  Pearl  of  the 
Antilles,  except  in  Puerto  Rico,  where  likewise  the  peo- 
ple are  groaning  beneath  their  taxes.  Before  the  treaty 
was  negotiated,  the  tax  on  a  barrel  of  flour  was  more 
than  equal  to  the  original  cost  in  the  States,  and  the  mil- 
lers in  Spain  even  made  immense  profits  by  importing 
American  wheat,  grinding  it,  and  exporting  it  to  Cuba. 
Oppression  had  reached  the  point  where  even  the  Span- 
iards in  Cuba,  comprising  the  majority  of  the  merchants 


138 


IN    THE    WAKE    OF   COLUMBUS. 


and  shop-keepers,  protested  against  the  exactions,  and 
in  the  air  were  ominous  mutterings  of  insurrections  and 
rebellion.  Little  hope  has  Cuba  of  any  successful 
uprising  against  the  Spanish  oppressor,  who  has  all  the 
forts  filled  with  guns,  and  all  the  towns  and  cities  filled 
with  soldiers. 

But  even  should  the  Cubans  ever  throw  off  the  yoke 
that  has  so  long  been  fastened  upon  them,  they  would 


AT    THE    MAKKET. 


probably  find  worse  enemies  among  themselves  than  in 
the  ranks  of  the  foreign  foe.  For  the  people  are  not 
fitted  to  govern;  and  there  is  no  hope  whatever  of 
bettering  their  condition  by  a  revolution. 

The  thing  they  hope  for,  yearn  after,  and  desire  above 
all  things,  is  annexation  to  the  United  States;   and  in 


THE   COMMISSIONER'S    MISSION   TO   CUBA.         139 

order  to  frighten  old  Spain  at  times,  this  bugaboo  of 
annexation  is  elevated,  by  imaginative  journalists,  that 
they  may  have  the  pleasure  of  knocking  it  down.  The 
assumed  "hostile  attitude"  of  the  Cuban  Government 
toward  the  United  States,  is  almost  wholly  the  work  of 
a  few  newspapers  at  Madrid ;  the  intelligent  editors  of 
Cuban  newspapers  and  the  Government  officials  know 
that  it  means  absolutely  nothing.  As  I  frequently 
assured  the  Cubanos ;  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  has  no  desire  for  the  annexation  of  Cuba  or  Can- 
ada, Mexico  or  Patagonia.  The  people  of  the  United 
States  are  so  self-absorbed,  having  yet  a  vast  territory 
of  their  own  undeveloped,  and  producing  more  than 
they  themselves  can  consume,  that  they  seldom  cast  a 
thought  toward  even  contiguous  countries,  except,  as  in 
the  instance  of  my  visit,  to  invite  their  neighbors  over  to 
see  them,  and  to  participate  in  their  prosperity. 

But  the  Cubans  themselves  cannot  understand  the  atti- 
tude of  indifference  maintained  by  "  Uncle  Sam  "  toward 
the  attractions  of  their  beautiful  island ;  they  see  only 
the  natural  beauties  of  their  possession ;  the  thoughtful 
American  sees  farther;  and  it  may  not  be  amiss  to 
mention  that  any  student  of  history  will  understand  the 
perils  of  the  problem  that  might  be  presented  for  so- 
lution, were  annexation  to  come  about.  In  truth,  they 
don't  understand  the  real  nature  of  Uncle  Sam.  He  is 
such  an  easy-going,  good-natured  old  gentleman,  with 
a  family  increasing  rapidly  by  immigration  from  the 
Old  World,  at  the  rate  of  half  a  million  yearly,  that 
he  dreads  the  responsibility  of  adopting  a  "grown-up  " 
family   of   children  —  and   unruly   children,  at  that  — 


140  IN    THE    WAKE    OF    COLUMBUS. 

suddenly  bereft  of  maternal  guidance  so  salutary  as  they 
now  receive  from  the  fair  Queen  Regent  of  Spain. 

There  is  no  question  about  the  interests  of  Cuba  being 
bound  up  with  those  of  the  United  States,  for,  although 
politically  united  to  Spain,  she  has  nothing  in  common 
with  that  country,  which  is  sucking  out  her  life-blood 
and  injecting  a  spurious  serum  in  returm.  All  the  trade 
of  Cuba  belongs  to  the  United  States,  and  her  very  life 
depends  upon  our  markets  for  her  sugar  and  tobacco, 
while  everything  she  produces  could  find  sale  here. 

The  United  States  does  not  wish  for  these  islands ;  but 
they  need  the  protecting  arm  of  this  strong  and  friendly 
nation  around  them,  and  the  advanced  thinkers  of  them 
all  are  looking  toward  this  Government  to  save  them 
from  destruction. 

Notwithstanding  the  great  number  of  soldiers  in  the 
island,  good  order  is  by  no  means  maintained  throughout 
the  country,  and  bandits  of  the  worst  kind  keep  por- 
tions of  the  interior  in  terror.  Scarcely  a  week  passes 
without  accounts  of  their  depredations,  and  notices  in 
the  papers  of  the  pursuit,  rarely  the  capture,  of  ' '  los 
bandoleros.'"  When  captured,  they  are  shot,  usually  in 
attempting  to  "escape. "  Four  bandits  were  shot  in  the 
very  harbor  of  Havana,  during  my  visit ;  they  were  lured 
thither  by  promise  of  amnesty,  and  had  taken  passage 
for  Santo  Domingo.  Just  before  the  time  came  for 
the  steamer  to  leave,  a  boat  load  of  policemen  went  off 
to  arrest  them ;  the  bandits  drew  knives  and  pistols  to 
resist,  and  all  were  shot.  The  police  were  badly  cut 
up,  but  not  a  bandit  lived  to  tell  the  tale.  This  event 
took  place  in  the  midst  of  the  crowded  shipping,  and 


THE   COMMISSIONER'S    MISSION   TO   CUBA. 


141 


in  open  day,  but  the  news  did  not  make  much  stir  in 
town. 

The  chief  of  the  bandoleros  was  one  Manuel  Garcia, 
who  signed  himself  "  el  Rey  de  los  Campos,"  the  King 
of  the  Country.  He  was  exceedingly  cunning;  long 
escaping  capture,  though  his  wife  was  in  jail,  and  many 
of   his    companions  had  been   taken  and  shot.     Their 


r/T^" 


ON  THE   PASEO. 


field  of  operations  was  quite  near  Havana;  generally 
between  two  towns  called  Guines  and  Aguacate,  and 
their  lairs  were  in  the  thick  chaparral  of  the  old  fields 
and  forests  difficult  for  soldiers  to  penetrate. 

News  is  rapidly  gathered  and  disseminated  in  the 
island  by  the  papers,  which  are  numerous;  in  fact  in 
excess  of  the  number  required  by  the  population.  Fifty 
periodicals  of  various   kinds  are  published  in  Havana 


142 


IN   THE   WAKE   OF  COLUMBUS. 


alone,  including-  illustrated  journals  of  the  cheaper 
grade,  and  a  great  redundancy  of  the  political  stripe. 
The  leading  dailies  are:  the  Diario  dc  la  Marina, 
founded  in  1844;  El  Pais,  La  Union  Constitutional,  and 
La  LucJia.  A  very  bright  and  enterprising  little  sheet, 
devoted  to  fashion,  art,  literature,  and  especially  to  the 


taking  off  of  the  follies  of  the  day,  is  El  Figaro,  which 
has  excellent  illustrations. 

Art  and  literature  here  have  not  the  encouragement 
they  deserve,  in  a  land  teeming  with  models  of  form 
and  beauty,  and  rich  in  memories  of  great  men  and 
great  deeds.  The  only  library,  the  Bibliotcca,  is  scantily 
supplied  with  books,  and  most  of  these  were  donated 


THE   COMMISSIONER'S    MISSION   TO   CUBA.         143 

by  private  individuals;  but  there  is  a  School  of  Arts, 
under  the  direction  of  Senor  Melero,  which,  though  in 
great  need  of  money  for  the  purchase  of  casts,  etc.,  is 
in  a  nourishing  condition.  I  visited  it  quite  often,  be- 
ing charmed  with  the  courtesy  of  the  director,  and 
entertained  by  the  wit  of  his  assistant.  I  was  allowed 
to  inspect  the  school,  one  day,  and  was  surprised  at  the 
number  of  bright  and  alert  young  ladies,  enthusiasti- 
cally working  at  their  tasks.  I  could  not  but  notice,  as 
I  looked  behind  the  easels,  that  they  did  not  confine 
their  efforts  entirely  to  the  adorning  of  their  canvases, 
but  that  each  one  had  a  tiny  box  of  powder  at  hand, 
which  was  brought  into  requisition  whenever  its  fair 
owner  thought  her  complexion  needed  a  little  touch- 
ing up.  But  I  am  sure  this  is  the  only  vanity  those 
charming  Cubanas  have,  for  they  are  the  sweetest  most 
amiable,  brightest  and  loveliest  of  girls.  I  recall  one 
of  the  little  artists,  whom  I  was  sometimes  privileged  to 
observe  on  a  balcony,  and  who  had  a  sweet  and  saucy 
face,  lighted  up  by  most  wonderful  black  eyes,  and  the 
prettiest  air  imaginable. 

In  the  convent  school  of  Belem  there  is  a  fine  collec- 
tion of  old  books,  as  well  as  an  attempt  to  get  together 
a  museum  of  the  animals,  minerals,  shells,  and  other 
natural-history  specimens.  The  church  attached  is 
over  two  hundred  years  old,  and  a  beautiful  structure, 
with  magnificent  palms  in  its  court.  The  leading 
scientific  society  is  the  Real  Acadcmia,  in  Cuba  Street, 
where  are  fine  conchological  and  mineralogical  collec- 
tions. A  few  celts  and  implements  of  the  Cuban  abo- 
rigines are  also  shown,  and  two  strange  specimens  of 


144 


IN    THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 


Indian  crania  that  were  found  in  a  cave,  imbedded  in 
lime  rock.  The  society  publishes  a  bulletin,  which  is 
eagerly  sought  as  an  exchange  by  the  scientific  societies 
of  the  world,  and  is  under  the  guidance  of  learned  and 
enthusiastic  professors. 

I   had  been  anxious  for  many  years  to  meet  one  of 
Cuba's  famous  men,  of  whom  the  whole  scientific  world 


REAL    ACAD  EMI  A  —  HAVANA. 


had  been  for  nearly  fifty  years  cognizant :  Don  Felipe 
Poey.  My  intention  was  to  seek  him  out  at  the  first 
opportunity;  but  another  visitor  got  ahead  of  me,  and 
prevented.  The  very  day  of  my  arrival,  seeing  an  im- 
posing funeral  procession  pass  the  Inglaterra,  I  inquired 


THE    COMMISSIONER'S    MISSION    TO    CUBA.         145 

who  was  so  highly  honored,  and  was  told  that  it  was  the 
gentleman  I  was  so  desirous  to  meet.  Another  scien- 
tist, who  has  devoted  fifty  years  to  a  study  of  the  orni- 
thology of  Cuba,  and  whose  work  has  made  him  famous, 
is  Dr.  Gundlach,  whom  I  had  long  known  by  repu- 
tation, and  whom  I  found  in  a  room  of  the  university, 
arranging  his  collections.  Although  over  eighty  years 
of  age,  fifty  of  which  he  had  passed  in  the  woods  and 
fields,  exposed  to  every  hardship,  yet  he  was  alert  and 
active,  remembered  me  from  my  book  on  the  Caribbees, 
which  he  at  once  produced,  and  discussed  with  great 
relish  the  joys  and  perils  of  camp-life  in  the  Tropics. 
Like  myself,  he  had  enjoyed  immunity  from  the  stings 
and  bites  of  poisonous  reptiles  and  insects,  never  having 
been  bitten  by  dangerous  animals,  nor  even  stung  by  a 
tarantula.  Poey  and  Gundlach  take  one  back  to  the 
days  of  Humboldt  and  Audubon;  and  one  might  do  the 
world  a  favor,  if  he  would  write  out  their  travels  and 
reminiscences. 

While  I  was  in  Havana,  I  was  cheered  by  a  flying 
visit  from  the  chief  of  the  department,  under  whom 
I  was  working,  Mr.  W.  Eleroy  Curtis,  who  held  the  im- 
portant position  of  assistant  to  the  Director-General 
of  the  Exposition,  and  was  in  close  relations  with  the 
Department  of  State.  He  is  a  gentleman  of  great  and 
varied  attainments,  formerly  a  journalist  of  reputa- 
tion, and  has  won  lasting  credit  in  connection  with  the 
management  of  the  "Bureau  of  the  American  Repub- 
lics." He  has  visited  nearly  every  portion  of  the  West 
Indies  and  South  America,  has  written  an  authorita- 
tive volume  on  the  latter  countries,  and  is  thoroughly 


146  IN    THE    WAKE    OF    COLUMBUS. 

informed  regarding-  their  future  and  possibilities.  A 
man  of  untiring  energy  and  great  executive  ability,  he 
infused  into  his  subordinates  the  same  spirit  of  hopeful 
labor  with  which  he  himself  was  animated.  The  de- 
partment of  which  he  was  chief  embraced  Mexico,  the 
West  Indies,  Central  and  South  America,  and  was  called, 
from  the  preponderance  of  people  of  Spanish  origin,  the 
Latin-American  Department. 

Owing  to  the  fact  that  I  was  domiciled  in  a  huespedes, 
he  professed  to  have  had  great  difficulty  in  finding  me, 
and  demanded  why  I  was  not  flying  my  consular  flag. 
I  had  been  provided  with  a  handsome  flag  at  starting, 
and  was  supposed  to  keep  it  flying  on  the  house  I  might 
happen  to  be  in;  but  seeing  no  other  flag  in  the  air,  on 
week-days,  I  had  not,  my  chief  thought,  sufficiently 
asserted  myself.  So  I  ordered  Manuel,  my  servant, 
to  hoist  the  flag  on  the  pole  on  the  roof.  The  Cuban 
stared  at  me  a  moment,  and  then  said  respectfully,  but 
in  surprise : 

"  But,  Senor,  this  is  a  week-day." 

"  Xo  matter;  up  with  the  flag." 

He  took  it  down  from  between  my  rooms,  where  it 
had  done  duty  as  a  portiere,  and  went  with  it  to  the 
roof,  while  I  hastened  to  the  Hotel  Pasaje,  to  point  it 
out  to  my  chief.  "We  went  out  on  the  balcony,  expect- 
ing to  be  refreshed  with  the  sight  of  the  glorious  stars 
and  stripes  floating  above  a  Spanish  boarding-house; 
but  casting  our  eyes  in  that  direction,  to  our  horror  we 
saw  it  hung  up  Union  down.  I  ran  over  and  corrected 
that  error,  and  all  day  long  I  saw  the  passers-by  look- 
ing wonderingly  at  my  flag,  and  little  groups  collect, 


THE   COMMISSIONER'S    MISSION   TO   CUBA.         147 

evidently  lost  in  admiration.  But  at  nightfall  I  received 
a  message  from  the  Consul,  saying  that  there  had  been  an 
inquiry  as  to  the  meaning  of  the  new  Commissioner  in 
flying  his  flag  on  a  week-day.  And  it  appears  that  no 
other  flag  was  floating  in  the  city,  as  the  Spanish  only 
fly  their  bunting  on  Sundays  and  holidays,  when  the 
Anelo-Saxons  take  theirs  in. 


A    HIT    UK    OLD    HAVANA. 


VII. 


NORTH    COAST    OF    CUBA    TO    HAITI. 


F 


441  «$& 


'';:*%^^rr■?!'i,- 


-,:;i'5r 


>LACING  myself 
in  communica- 
tion with  the  Commis- 
sioners appointed  by 
the  Captain-General, 
I  had  the  great  pleas- 
ure of  daily  inter- 
course with  some  of 
the  most  polished  and 
highly-educated  gen- 
tlemen of  Havana, 
that  city  so  noted  for 
its  talented  and  cour- 
teous citizens. 

I  found,  as  already 
stated,  a  large  number  of  newspapers,  employing  the 
highest  class  of  journalistic  talent,  and  while  I  was  in 
Havana  the  columns  of  these  papers  were  always  open 
for  announcements  regarding  the  Exposition. 

Keeping  ever  in  mind  the  purpose  of  my  Government — 
to  fully  illustrate  the  history  of  the  discovery,  and  so  far 

148 


ROYAL   PALMS. 


NORTH   COAST   OF   CUBA   TO   HAITI.  149 

as  possible  the  growth  and  development  of  the  West 
Indies,  and  secure  everything  valuable  pertaining  to  the 
period  of  discovery  and  conquest  —  I  was  always  on  the 
lookout  for  things  Columbian.  Cuba,  as  we  know,  was 
not  circumnavigated  until  after  the  death  of  Columbus, 
and  the  first  settlement  was  not  attempted  until  the 
year  15 11,  when  a  Spaniard,  Velasquez,  sailed  from 
Santo  Domingo,  with  four  vessels  and  three  hundred 
men,  having  as  companions  two  who  became  more  fa- 
mous than  he  —  Cortez  and  Las  Casas — and  landed  on 
the  south  coast,  at  a  port  called  Las  Palmas,  near  the 
present  Guantanamo.  The  year  following,  Baracoa  was 
founded  on  the  north,  and,  in  15 15,  Santiago  de  Cuba, 
whence,  says  the  Cuban  chronicler,  Cortez  sailed  to  his 
career  in  Yucatan  and  the  conquest  of  Mexico.  Between 
1540  and  1550,  there  were  six  towns  in  Cuba:  Santiago, 
Baracoa,  Bayamo,  Prince's  Port,  Espiritu  Santo  and 
Havana. 

The  capital  of  Cuba  was  founded  in  15 19,  and  the 
spot  where  the  first  mass  was  celebrated,  beneath  the 
wide-spreading  branches  of  a  silk-cotton-tree,  is  now 
indicated  by  a  small  structure  called  the  templete,  in 
front  of  which  is  a  bust  of  Columbus,  and  within  three 
large  paintings  of  great  interest.  It  has  been  erro- 
neously stated  that  Columbus  landed  here;  but  the  first 
landing  at  Havana  occurred  thirteen  years  after  his 
death.  There  are  no  authentic  relics  of  him  here,  but 
there  is  a  statue  in  the  court  of  the  palace,  and  a  fine 
portrait  in  the  hall-of-sessions  of  the  city  council.  There 
is  an  inscription  on  it,  stating  that  the  original  from 
which  it  was  painted   came  from  the  island  of    Santo 


150 


IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 


Domingo,  and  that  this  one  was  sent  by  the  Duke  of 
Veragua,  in  1796.  In  the  same  hall  is  an  excellent 
painting  of  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims,  of  Cortez  burn- 
ing his  ships  at  Vera  Cruz,  with  portraits  of  Alfonso  XII. 


-  "f-a,. 


K--^: 


■-KI.LINii    PLANTS    IN    HAVANA. 


and  Fernando  VII.,  while  in  the  Captain-General's  audi- 
ence-room are  portraits  of  all  the  captain-generals  from 
the  year  1777. 

Most  famous  of  all  the  relics  claimed  to  be  possessed 
by  Havana  are  the  alleged  remains  of  Columbus,  in  the 
old  cathedral.  A  full  account  of  their  removal  hither 
will  be  found  in  a  later  chapter  of  this  book,  as  well  as 
a  discussion  of  their  authenticity.      Pending  the  decision 


NORTH   COAST   OF   CUBA   TO    HAITI.  151 

of  competent  judges,  my  chief  thought  it  as  well  to  have 
all  the  proofs  in  the  case  at  hand  when  the  Exposition 
should  open;  I  therefore  procured  a  cast  of  the  tablet 
erected  over  the  remains,  and  sent  it  to  Washington. 
This  tablet  is  affixed  against  the  wall  at  the  right  of 
the  altar,  and  has  upon  it  a  well-carved  bust,  and  the 
following  inscription : 

"  Oh!  Rest os  c  imagen  del grande  Colon! 
Mil  siglos  durad  guar  dados  en  la  nrna, 
Y  en  la  remembranza  de  nuestra  nacion." 

This  may  be  freely  paraphrased : 

"  O,  grand  Columbus  ! 

In  this  urn  enshrined 

A  thousand  centuries  thy  bones  shall  guard, 

A  thousand  ages  keep  thine  image  fresh, 

In  token  of  a  nation's  gratitude." 

The  cast  of  the  tablet  was  shipped  to  Washington, 
and  a  contract  was  made  with  a  local  sculptor  to  repro- 
duce a  remarkably  fine  statue  of  "  Columbus  in  Chains," 
in  the  Biblioteea,  sent  there  from  Barcelona. 

Thus,  by  bringing  to  the  notice  of  the  world  the  odd 
ends  of  historical  productions,  and  half-forgotten  facts 
of  valuable  history,  and  in  calling  attention  to  the  scenes 
of  occurrences  that  once  enlisted  the  attention  of  all  the 
civilized  inhabitants  of  the  globe,  the  directors  of  the 
Exposition  have  placed  themselves  upon  a  plane  far 
removed  from  prejudice  and  local  traditions. 

Cuba  played  an  important  part  in   the  conquest   of 


152 


IN   THE    WAKE  OF   COLUMBUS. 


America,  and  cannot  be  ignored  in  the  study  of  our  his- 
tory. In  that  subjugation  there  were  four  centers  of 
conquest  and  colonization . 

First:  Haiti,  from  1492  to  about  15 15,  whence  was 
explored  the  entire  chain  of  the  Antilles :  Cuba,  Puerto 
Rico,  Darien,  Florida  and  the  Spanish  Main.  Within  a 
generation  the  fortunes  of    Haiti  (or  Santo  Domingo) 


PLAZA    I>E   AKMAS,    HAVANA. 


had  sunk  to  the  lowest  point,  and  in  the  early  years  of 
the  sixteenth  century  its  colonists  were  eager  to  embark 
in  any  enterprise  leading  out  to  the  discovery  of  other 
fields. 

Second:  Darien,  in  the  year  i5i3,became  another  nu- 
cleus of  adventurous  spirits.  From  its  mountains  Vasco 
Nunez  de  Balboa,  first  of  all  Europeans,  saw  the  great 


NORTH    COAST   OF   CUBA   TO    HAITI.  153 

Southern  Sea,  and  here  began  those  explorations  that 
eventually  led  to  the  discovery  of  Peru. 

Third:  Cuba,  from  15 13  to  1540,  became  the  pivotal 
point  of  explorers.  Remnants  of  the  shattered  forces 
of  the  various  unfortunate  adventurers  in  Darien  and 
Panama  straggled  to  Cuba,  and  from  their  reports  re- 
sulted Yucatan,  Mexico,  and  the  further  exploitation  of 
Florida.  A  gallant  hidalgo  of  Cuba,  who  had  come 
over  from  Santo  Domingo  with  Velasquez,  Hernandez  de 
Cordova,  joined  with  him  a  troop  of  men  from  Haiti 
and  Darien,  and  sailed  on  an  expedition,  disastrous  to 
himself,  but  which  led  to  the  discovery  of  Yucatan. 
His  pilot  was  the  celebrated  Alaminos,  who  as  a  boy 
was  with  Columbus,  and  he  sailed  in  15 17.  The  next 
year  a  more  successful  expedition  was  sent  out  by 
Governor  Velasquez,  under  command  of  one  Grijalva, 
which  went  beyond  the  coast  found  by  Cordova,  and 
brought  back  treasures  of  gold. 

Fourth :  In  this  manner  was  ushered  in  the  closing  act 
of  the  great  drama,  the  discovery  of  Mexico,  by  Her- 
nando Cortez,  in  the  year  15 19.  Governor  Velasquez, 
instead  of  giving  the  command  of  this  second  and  largest 
venture  to  Grijalva,  who  had  shown  himself  fully  com- 
petent to  conduct  it,  "at  length,  after  having  seriously 
considered  it,  pitched  upon  the  man  who  gave  him  cause 
to  repent,  and  made  his  life  weary,"  says  the  old  histo- 
rian. With  the  affairs  of  Cortez  we  have  nothing  further 
to  do;  we  know  the  sequel:  the  conquest  of  Mexico 
and  the  further  extension  of  the  dominions  of  Spain. 
Fortunately,  a  hardier  people  and  more  warlike  op- 
posed  the  Spanish    oppressors  in    Mexico  than  in  the 


154  IX    THE    WAKE    OE    COLUMBUS. 

West  Indies ;  and  to  this  is  owing  their  preservation  to 
this  day.  It  was  in  July  of  the  same  year,  15 19,  that 
the  first  ship  from  New  to  Old  Spain  made  the  voyage 
through  the  Bahama  Channel,  to  avoid  falling  into  the 
hands  of  A^elasquez,  as  it  carried  the  rich  and  golden 
treasures  sent  by  Montezuma  to  the  king  of  Spain. 
The  fourth  center  of  conquest  was,  therefore,  Mexico; 
whence  New  Mexico  (by  Coronado),  Honduras,  Guate- 
mala, the  Pacific  Coast  and  Nicaragua. 

But  these  adventures  carry  the  field  of  action  beyond 
our  ken,  for  we  have  to  do  only  with  the  first  great 
voyages  that  opened  the  way  for  them. 

We  have  followed  the  adventurous  Spaniards  on  their 
first  voyage  to  these  shores,  sailing  with  them  through 
the  Bahama  chain,  and  finally  reaching  the  north  coast 
of  Cuba.  With  my  readers'  permission,  I  will  now 
return  to  our  ghostly  companions,  whom  in  the  fourth 
chapter  we  left  on  the  eve  of  landing,  and  allow  them 
to  conduct  us  yet  farther  along  the  course  of  their 
voyagings. 

Leaving  Havana  about  the  middle  of  March,  I  fol- 
lowed along  the  very  route  pursued  by  Columbus  after 
he  had  landed  on  the  shores  of  Cuba.  It  was  difficult 
to  tear  myself  away  from  the  numerous  attractions  of 
the  quaint  old  city  and  its  fascinating  people ;  but  my 
mission  had  practically  been  accomplished,  the  Com- 
missioners were  actively  at  work,  or  about  to  begin,  the 
press  had  already  published  an  elaborate  presentation 
of  the  plans  of  the  Exposition,  and  my  further  stay 
could  not  result  in  any  adequate  reward.  It  was  my 
intention  to  return ;  but  the  field  assigned  me  was  such 


NORTH    COAST   OF   CUBA   TO   HAITI.  157 

a  vast  one,  with  desultory  and  infrequent  communica- 
tion between  the  various  islands,  that  I  got  entangled  in 
the  insular  labyrinth  far  to  the  south,  and  never  recovered 
my  original  route. 

Although  my  official  duties  left  me  little  time  for 
recreation,  or  for  excursions,  yet  I  made  several  trips 
into  the  country;  one  to  the  celebrated  Toledo  sugar 
estate,  where  all  the  appliances  of  modern  invention 
are  in  use  for  the  extraction  and  crystallization  of  the 
cane  juice,  and  another  to  the  district  of  Matanzas. 
Near  Matanzas  is  that  most  beautiful  vale  of  Paradise, 
the  Yumuri  Valley,  and  the  celebrated  caves  of  Bella- 
Mar.  No  words  can  describe  the  beauty  of  Yumuri,  as 
seen  from  the  Cumbres,  or  from  the  chapel  of  Monser- 
rate,  with  its  stretches  of  level  plain  inclosed  within 
steep  hills,  and  its  groves  and  groups  of  palms.  On 
the  way  thither,  one  sees  the  graceful  and  stately  royal 
palm,  in  ranks  and  single  groups,  but  to  know  what 
beauty  there  really  is  in  this  child  of  the  Tropics,  one 
should  gaze  upon  the  glorious  creations  of  Yumuri. 
They  stand  out  on  the  ridges;  white  and  ivory-stemmed 
they  rise  before  you  as  the  foreground  of  a  vista  tran- 
scendently  lovely ;  they  linger  in  memory  like  the  ghosts 
of  departed  saints. 

At  Matanzas  you  find  the  best  volantes;  and  so  rough 
is  the  road  that  only  by  means  of  these  lumbering  and 
antiquated  vehicles  can  you  reach  the  Cumbres.  Con- 
tinuing the  volante  ride,  the  caves  are  reached;  their 
fine  galleries,  rock  forms  and  stalactites  will  well  repay 
the  exertion  of  a  descent.  Another  journey  should  be 
taken  to  the  Vuelta-Abajo  district,  if  one  be  interested 


158 


IN   THE   WAKE  OF   COLUMBUS. 


in  tobacco  culture,  and  afterward  visit  the  great  factories 
in  the  capital. 

But  all  these  things  are  in  the  guide-books ;  our  time 
must  be  employed  in  exploiting  the  rarer  beauties  of 
islands  farther  on. 

As  we  have  already  noted,  the  coast  of  Cuba  was 
reached  by  Columbus  the  twenty-eighth  of  October, 
1492.      On  landing  he  found  a  people,  still  uncivilized. 


11 -ML' HI    VALLEY,    FK<>M    HILL    <>F    GUADELOUPE. 


yet  in  some  ways  in  advance  of  the  natives  of  the 
Bahamas;  they  had  huts  of  palm-leaves  in  the  shape  of 
pavilions,  and  were  discovered  smoking  tobacco,  which 
plant  had  been  first  seen  in  the  possession  of  an  old 
Indian  near  San  Salvador.  "At  that  time  it  was 
thought  Cuba  was  the  end  of  the  Asiatic  continent,  and 
then  the  islands  were  first  called  the  "West  Indies,  and 
the  region  the  New  World. " 

The  first  landing-place  in  Cuba  is  a  matter  of  dispute,. 


NORTH   COAST   OF   CUBA    TO    HAITI.  159 

like  the  first  Landfall,  but  the  weight  of  evidence  seems 
in  favor  of  the  port  of  Jibara,  or  Gibara  (pronounced 
Heebara),  on  the  north  coast.  The  best  presentation  of 
the  subject  is  in  a  little  book  by  a  Cuban  engineer, 
Sr.  H.  C.  Leyva,  called  " El  Primer  Viaje  de  Co/on,"  the 
"  First  Voyage  of  Columbus"  —  and  the  evidence  there 
given  shows  conclusively  that  Jibara  was  the  spot. 

I  left  Havana  one  night  of  storm,  when  the  whole 
sky  was  weeping,  as  if  in  evidence  of  my  own  sorrow 
at  leaving  behind  so  many  pleasant  acquaintances.  The 
Spanish  steamer  in  which  I  had  passage,  the  Manuela, 
was  stanch,  but  fearfully  dirty;  the  cabins  being  filled 
with  half-sick  men  and  women,  and  the  decks  covered 
with  cattle.  In  fact,  the  cattle  and  mules,  comprising 
the  deck-loads,  were  penned  so  far  aft  that  their  noses 
almost  touched  us  as  we  sat  at  the  tables,  which  were 
spread  on  deck ;  and  not  all  the  polite  attentions  of  the 
courteous  officers  could  divert  our  attention  from  our 
four-footed  shipmates. 

After  thirty-six  hours  steaming  we  sighted  the  "  Faro 
de  Colon,"  a  tall  white  shaft,  with  a  light,  standing  out 
from  an  apparently  wild  and  desolate  shore.  Entering 
the  mouth  of  a  wide  river,  an  hour's  slow  steaming  took 
us  to  a  very  broad  bay,  with  two  blue  mountains  distant 
in  the  southwest.  Lying  against  the  gentle  slope  of  a 
low  hill  are  perhaps  a  hundred  stone  buildings,  compris- 
ing the  sad-looking  town  of  Nuevitas,  the  port  of  the 
inland  city,  Puerto  Principe.  The  streets  are  merely 
water- worn  tracks  up  the  hillside,  and  the  general  air  of 
the  town  is  that  of  desolation  and  decay. 

The  second  day  took  us  into  Jibara,  at  daylight.    This 


160 


IN    THE    WAKE    OF    COLUMDUS. 


port  the  later  historians  have  accepted  as  the  true  Cuban 
landing-place  of  Columbus.  The  approach  to  it  is  most 
picturesque,  with  numerous  detached  mountains  rising 
above  green  forests  and  hills.  The  bay  is  open,  yet 
somewhat  sheltered,  and  its  relative  position  to  the  isl- 
ands of  the  mid-Bahamas  is  such  that  it  would  be  very 
likely  to  receive  the  boats  of  Columbus  as  he  was  coming 


MOUNTAINS   OF   JIBAKA. 


down  from  the  northeast.  The  waves  that  break  upon 
the  coast  outside  are  white-crested  and  dangerous;  but 
inside  there  is  shelter  and  a  cheerful  prospect. 

At  present,  the  town  of  Jibara  is  in  that  half-ruined 
state  presented  by  so  many  of  the  settlements  of  Cuba, 
harassed  by  the  revolutionists  of  recent  years.  A  high 
wall  extends  around  the  inland  portion,  with  very  pretty 
towers  here  and  there,  built  as  a  defense  against  the 


NORTH   COAST   OF   CUBA   TO   HAITI.  161 

insurrectionists.  There  is  little  soil,  the  rock  is  calcare- 
ous, the  vegetation  is  tropical,  and  the  general  aspect 
forlorn.  There  is  a  little  square,  a  small  church,  an 
excellent  casino  and  theater,  but  no  private  houses  of 
importance.  Off  the  harbor  lie  four  great  hills,  or 
mountains,  known  as  the  Silla  de  Jibara,  Cerro  Colo- 
rado, Loma  del  Pufial,  and  Cerro  Yabazon.  These  are 
conspicuous  landmarks,  and  attracted  the  attention  of 
Columbus  on  his  approach,  as  stated  in  his  journal. 

Here  the  steamer  took  on  another  load  of  cattle,  and 
I  had  my  first  view  of  the  method  of  loading.  A  lighter 
comes  alongside,  makes  fast,  and  then  a  rope  is  thrown 
down  from  the  steamer's  deck.  One  end  of  this  rope 
is  attached  to  the  steam  hoisting  winch ;  at  the  other  is 
a  running  noose.  The  noose  is  thrown  over  the  horns 
of  an  unfortunate  ox  or  bull,  the  winch  is  started  to 
tighten  the  noose,  and  then  goes  ahead  at  full  speed, 
hoisting  the  unhappy  animal  into  the  air.  Sometimes 
there  are  two  animals  in  the  same  noose,  and  the  tortures 
they  undergo  cannot  be  imagined,  as  the  rope  draws 
around  their  horns,  tightens  into  the  hides,  and  the 
terrible  strain  of  their  weight  comes  upon  the  heads. 
Hoisted  to  a  height  sufficient,  they  are  swung  in  mid- 
air over  the  deck  and  dropped  heavily  upon  the  planks, 
where  they  lie  stunned  for  a  while,  or  gather  themselves 
up  with  an  air  of  stupefaction.  Altogether,  the  process 
is  horrible  and  cruel  in  the  extreme;  but  the  Cubans 
think  nothing  of  it,  and  have  loaded  cattle  in  this  way 
for  many  years. 

Here,  as  everywhere  in  Cuba,  Spanish  misrule  is  ruin- 
ing the  people,  and  Spanish  soldiers  are  devastating  the 


162  IN   THE   WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

land  like  a  curse  of  grasshoppers  and  locusts.  The  last 
revolution  brought  the  people  to  poverty,  and  they  can- 
not recover;  there  is  not  a  plantation  within  range  of 
the  eye,  except  dry  fields  of  Henequen,  or  Sisal  hemp. 

Away  down  to  the  southeast,  lies  the  port  of  Baracoa, 
which  we  reached  one  morning,  entering  its  beauti- 
ful harbor  at  daylight.  This  port  was  specially  com- 
mended by  Columbus,  who  found  it  as  he  coasted  the 
Cuban  shores,  and  whose  vessels  were  the  first  to  enter 
it;  and  it  was  owing  to  his  glowing  reports  that  it  sub- 
sequently became  the  site  of  a  city.  It  is  situated,  says 
the  historian,  near  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  island, 
"  the  surroundings  presenting  an  extensive  plain  gradu- 
ally sloping  from  the  mountains  down  to  the  shore, 
intersected  by  valleys  and  richly  wooded,  from  which 
streams  of  water  fall  into  the  sea,  affording,  with  all  the 
beauties  of  tropical  vegetation,  a  picture  of  enchant- 
ment."  This  is  true  to-day;  no  lovelier  view  is  afforded 
the  traveler  in  any  part  of  the  world,  than  that  of  Bara- 
coa as  seen  from  the  sea,  or  from  the  high  hills  that 
rise  behind  it.  Palms,  majestic  and  graceful,  adorn  all 
the  slopes,  and  grand  mountain  forms  rise  through  the 
sea  of  forest  that  seems  to  retain  all  its  virgin  freshness 
and  primeval  majesty. 

The  most  conspicuous  feature  here,  and  one  dwelt 
upon  particularly  by  Columbus  in  the  journal  of  his 
voyagings,  is  the  great  table-topped  mountain  that  rises 
behind  the  town,  and  can  be  seen  far  out  at  sea.  It  is 
still  called  by  its  aboriginal  name,  Yuuquc,  and  tradi- 
tions cluster  thickly  around  it,  the  natives  averring  that 
sometimes,  in  the  morninc.  the   face  and   figure  of   an 


NORTH   COAST  OF   CUBA   TO   HAITI.  163 

Indian   cacique  can  be   traced   against  its  rugged  and 
almost  perpendicular  sides. 

It  was  either  here  or  at  Jibara  (but  more  probably  at 
the  latter  port),  that  Columbus,  thinking  he  had  at  last 
arrived  at  the  border-land  of  the  province  of  the  "  Grand 
Khan,"  dispatched  an  embassy  to  the  fancied  potentate, 
with  presents  and  conciliatory  messages,  which  wofully 
miscarried,  for  there  was  not  any  Grand  Khan,  nor  any 


~J 


NORTH    COAST   OF    CUBA. 


city  of  grand  proportions,  such  as  Marco  Polo  had  de- 
scribed, and  the  Admiral  was  looking  for.  But  he  met 
some  Indians  different  from  those  hitherto  seen,  one  of 
whom  gave  him  some  advice,  which  it  would  have  been 
well  if  he  had  taken  to  heart,  and  he  saw  some  new 
things  of  interest.  Among  others,  a  strange  animal,  now 
extinct,  called  afterward  by  the  Spaniards  the  "dumb 
dog,"  and  which  was  highly  prized  by  the  aborigines. 
"  Ye   Dumme    Dogge, "   says  Petrus   Martyr,    in  his 


1G4  IN   THE    WAKE    OF    COLUMBUS. 

history,  first  published  in  English  in  1555,  "is  found 
in  the  islands  lately  discovered,  and  whose  inhabitants 
g-o  naked ;  and  for  scarceness  of  children  sacrifice  dogges, 
which  they  nourish  as  well  for  that  purpose  as  we  do 
connies.  These  dogges  are  dumme  and  cannot  barke, 
having  snoutes  like  unto  foxes. " 

This  "  dumb  dog"  was,  Dr.  Gundlach  thinks,  a  rac- 
coon, but  I  am  inclined  to  believe  it  a  species  of  animal 
now  extinct.  The  aborigines  had  domesticated  another 
mammal,  called  the  Hutia,  and  this,  with  three  others, 
now  comprises  the  four  indigenous  mammals  of  Cuba. 
There  are  two  species  of  the  Hutia :  the  Hutia  Pocyii 
(named  after  Sehor  Poey),  and  the  H.  Forrier;  besides  a 
small  animal  called  the  Almiqui — the  Solatium  Lit  ba- 
nns—  and  the  Javalli,  or  native  wild  peccary;  also,  two 
species  of  Guinea  pig,  which  have  run  wild. 

Nearly  twenty  years  elapsed  between  the  discovery  of 
Cuba  and  the  founding  of  the  first  settlement,  but  the 
chief  cacique  of  Cuba,  Hatuey,  had  secretly  informed 
himself  of  the  movements  of  the  Spaniards  and  their 
barbarous  treatment  of  the  Indians,  and  warned  his 
people  against  them.  Once  he  called  them  together, 
and  told  them  that  the  Spaniards  did  all  their  cruel 
deeds  for  the  sake  of  a  great  lord  they  were  serving, 
and  whom  he  would  show  them.  Taking  some  gold 
from  a  basket,  he  said,  ' '  This  is  the  lord  whom  they 
serve,  and  him  they  follow;  they  are  coming  here  only 
to  seek  this  lord;  therefore,  let  us  make  a  festival  and 
dance  before  him,  to  the  end  that  when  they  come  he 
may  order  them  to  do  us  no  harm."  After  they  were 
spent  with  singing  and  dancing,  the  chief  told  them  not 


NORTH   COAST    OF   CUBA    TO    HAITI.  165 

to  keep  this  god  anywhere  about  them,  for  even  though 
he  were  inside  of  them,  yet  would  the  Spaniards  find 
him,  and  therefore  they  should  cast  him  into  the  river; 
and  this  they  did. 

And  it  all  came  about  as  the  poor  old  chieftain  pre- 
dicted, for  the  Spaniards  hounded  him  and  his  followers 
through  the  thickest  forests,  until  all  were  captured  or 
slain,  and  Hatuey  himself  was  burned  at  the  stake. 
The  cruelties  of  Haiti  were  enacted  over  again,  and 
but  a  few  years  had  passed  before  these  harmless  chil- 
dren of  Cuba  were  exterminated.  In  order  to  get  rid 
of  the  miseries  of  the  mines,  whole  troops  of  Indians 
hanged  themselves  in  the  forests,  and  the  suicidal  ma- 
nia was  only  checked  when  one  of  the  overseers  went 
among  his  miners  with  ropes,  and  threatened  to  hang 
himself,  also,  and  thus  accompany  them  into  the  next 
world,  where  he  would  continue  the  torments  he  had 
begun  in  this. 

Nothing  remains  now  of  the  native  population,  and 
the  only  reminders  of  them  are  the  rude  implements  of 
warfare  and  agriculture  sometimes  discovered.  Near 
Cape  Maysi,  at  the  eastern  end  of  Cuba,  is  an  immense 
cavern,  formerly  a  dwelling-place  of  the  natives,  and 
here  have  been  found  some  crania  apparently  petrified. 

Our  Consul  and  Vice-Consul  received  us  with  open 
arms  at  Baracoa,  and  treated  us  to  a  dinner  cooked  and 
served  in  the  old  Cuban  style.  The  port  was  full  of 
"fruiters"  loading  with  bananas  for  the  States;  the 
banana  trade  to-day  is  enormous  and  increasing.  At 
sunset  we  were  rounding  historic  Maysi,  the  cape  dis- 
covered and  named  by  Columbus,  and  following  in  the 


166 


IN   THE   WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 


very  track  he  took  when  he  left  Baracoa  and  sought  out 
the  land  of  Bohio,  where  the  natives  told  him  he  would 
find  in  abundance  the  gold  he  desired  so  much.  He 
had  reached  the  Cuban  .coast  the  twenty-eighth  of 
October,  and  had  lingered  along  its  shores  five  weeks, 
taking  his  final  departure  the  fourth  of  December.     Off 


BARACOA. 


the  cape  he  sighted  high,  cloud-like  mountains,  and  for 
them  he  steered,  crossing  the  channel  between  Cuba 
and  Haiti.  On  the  seventh  of  December,  1492,  he 
reached  the  latter  island  at  Point  St.  Nicholas,  near 
which  is  the  celebrated  Mole  which  was  recently  the 
subject  of  controversy  between  the  United  States  and 
Haiti. 


NORTH   COAST   OF   CUBA   TO    HAITI.  167 

Instead  of  following  directly  in  the  route  of  Colum- 
bus, our  steamer  turned  to  the  westward,  entering  the 
picturesque  port  of  Santiago  de  Cuba,  where  our  Con- 
sul, Mr.  Otto  Reimer,  who  has  held  office  during  two 
administrations,  entertained  us  delightfully,  until  we, 
too,  essayed  to  cross  the  channel,  seeking  the  Haitian 
shores.  Twenty-four  hours  later  we  dropped  anchor 
in  the  harbor  of  Port  au  Prince,  after  a  very  rough 
passage  across,  and  having  coasted  the  fine  island  of 
Gonaive,  which  lies  off  the  harbor,  covered  with  dense 
tropical  vegetation,  and  which,  though  surpassingly  rich, 
is  almost  uninhabited. 

There  was  a  long  delay  in  securing  permission  to  land, 
and  it  was  afternoon  when  the  quay  was  finally  reached, 
there  being  few  boats  at  hand,  and  the  owners  of  these 
few  lazy  and  insolent.  The  boatmen  charged  three 
dollars  for  myself  and  trunks;  the  porters  demanded  a 
dollar  for  taking  the  luggage  to  the  custom-house,  and 
another  dollar  for  carrying  it  to  the  hotel.  Thanks  to 
the  intercession  of  Mr.  Bassett,  the  American  minister's 
secretary,  my  luggage  was  passed  without  examination ; 
the  colored  customs  officials  were  courteous  and  atten- 
tive, and,  my  special  passport  being  found  all  right,  I 
was  at  last  free  to  go  where  I  pleased. 

Securing  quarters  at  the  Hotel  Bellevue,  just  outside 
the  city  and  on  the  Champs  de  Mars,  I  hoisted  the 
American  flag,  and  devoted  the  two  days  left  me  before 
the  sailing  of  the  steamer  for  Jamaica,  to  important 
business  with  the  Government.  They  were  busy  days, 
but  I  filled  them,  and  enjoyed  my  stay  exceedingly. 
Going  on  to  Jamaica,  I  returned  seven  weeks  later,  and 


168  IN    THE    WAKE    OF    COLUMBUS. 

then  accomplished  the  negotiations  which  the  absence 
of  the  President  had  prevented  on  the  first  visit. 

My  first  call,  of  course,  after  being  settled  at  the  hotel, 
was  on  the  American  Minister,  the  Hon.  Frederick 
Douglas,  to  whom  I  presented  my  letters  from  the  Sec- 
retary of  State,  and  my  credentials  as  attache  of  the 
Haitian  Legation.  I  was  introduced  by  Mr.  Bassett,  his 
secretary,  who  was  formerly  minister  here  during  most 
troublous  times.  I  also  met  another  ex-minister,  Mr. 
Thompson,  who  had  preceded  Mr.  Douglas.  He  was 
just  leaving,  having  remained  behind  to  improve  the 
opportunities  afforded  one  to  make  money  in  this  rich 
island.  Minister  Douglas  had  a  very  nice  country  resi- 
dence back  of  the  hotel,  but  the  office  of  the  Legation 
was  near  the  business  center  of  the  town. 

There  is  a  small  American  colony  here,  and  in  the 
evening  I  dined  with  Mr.  Crain,  an  enterprising  Ameri- 
can who  introduced  the  first  (and  last)  street  railway 
into  the  island.  As  an  illustration  of  the  fate  of  modern 
enterprise,  when  brought  into  contact  with  the  Haitian 
barbarism,  let  this  contractor's  experience  prove  a  warn- 
ing to  all  who  would  seek  investments  in  this  republic. 
Mr.  Crain  secured  a  contract,  put  down  his  rails,  im- 
ported improved  cars  and  mules,  and  ran  his  street-cars 
regularly  from  the  Mole  to  the  Champs  de  Mars,  and 
back.  At  first,  the  novelty  of  the  thing  "took"  with 
the  Haitians  and  all  their  spare  cash,  as  well  as  all 
they  could  borrow  —  not  to  speak  of  their  enterprise 
in  defrauding  conductors  —  was  invested  in  rides  over 
the  rails.  After  a  fen-  weeks,  however,  the  novelty  had 
worn  off,  and  the   street-cars   palled  upon   them;    and 


NORTH    COAST    OF   CUBA    TO    HAITI.  169 

when  a  thing  palls  upon  a  Haitian,  he  is  not  at  all  slow 
in  showing  it.  It  Was  shown  in  this  instance  by  ripping 
up  the  rails  and  obstructing  the  track,  and  the  first 
revolution  next  succeeding,  aided  by  the  summer  floods, 
completed  the  work  of  devastation,  so  that  there  now 
remains  of  this  great  American  enterprise  only  the 
road-bed  and  disconnected  rails. 

The  streets  of  Port  au  Prince  were  as  bad  as  they 
could  be  before  the  advent  of  the  street-cars;  but  now 


IN    THE   VOLANTE,    CUBA. 

they  are  simply  exasperating,  for  the  broken  rails  stand 
high  out  of  the  roads,  and  twist  off  the  wheels  of  all 
vehicles  with  which  they  come  in  contact.  As  though 
the  loss  of  his  concession  were  not  enough,  it  was  seri- 
ously proposed,  by  the  Haitian  legislators,  to  force  Mr. 


170  IN    THE    WAKE    OF    COLUMBUS. 

Grain  to  take  up  the  fragments  of  the  rails,  and  restore 
the  streets  to  their  original  condition.  But  the  irony 
of  it  all  is,  that  Mr.  Crain  owns  a  livery  stable,  and 
probably  loses  more  wheels  from  his  carriages  than  all 
the  others  combined. 

Grain's  was  the  rallying-place  of  the  American  con- 
tingent in  times  of  peace,  as  well  as  their  retreat  in 
revolutions,  and  the  holes  made  by  flying  musket-balls 
were  numerous  in  the  walls.  At  dinner,  that  evening, 
the  frequent  revolutions  were  alluded  to,  and  my  friends 
humorously  described  their  various  and  numerous 
escapes.  Mr.  Crain  related  his  last  adventure,  when 
the  chair  he  sat  in  was  shot  from  under  him,  but  said 
he  was  unable  to  describe  his  sensations,  the  situation 
was  so  complicated.  Mr.  Bassett  mentioned  casually 
that  the  last  time  he  was  shot  at  one  bullet  passed  in  front 
of  him  and  another  behind  him,  and  a  ludicrous  feeling 
of  uncertainty  possessed  him  as  to  whether  he  had  best 
go  ahead,  retreat,  or  fall  flat  on  the  ground.  But  all 
agreed  that,  whatever  troubles  the  Haitians  might  have 
among  themselves,  they  did  not  really  intend  any  harm 
to  the  foreigner.  The  only  danger  lay  in  getting  hit 
by  a  bullet  intended  for  somebody  else;  but,  again,  as 
the  Haitian  soldiers  never  did  hit  what  they  aimed  at, 
it  was  generally  the  ball  intended  for  somebody  else 
that  did  the  execution. 

Although  the  Haitians  are  always  fighting  among 
themselves,  yet  it  is  the  universal  opinion  that  the 
foreigner  is  fairly  safe,  whether  in  city  or  country;  the 
foreign  residents  travel  about  unreservedly,  taking  the 
"revolutions"  as  a  matter  of    course,  and    interfering 


NORTH   COAST   OF   CUBA   TO   HAITI.  171 

with  nobody.  This  sense  of  security  in  the  intervals  of 
peace  was  illustrated  the  first  night  I  was  in  Haiti,  by 
the  departure  of  one  of  our  number,  about  ten  o'clock, 
for  his  country  house  in  the  mountains,  some  seven 
miles  away.  The  night  was  very  dark,  the  roads  un- 
utterably bad,  and  the  route  lay  near  a  district  in  which 
resided  some  of  the  worst  Voudou  people  in  those  parts ; 
yet  our  friend  went  off  unattended,  as  though  merely  go- 
ing across  the  street,  and  reappeared  next  morning,  to 
repeat  the  ride  again  that  night.  The  British  Consul, 
Mr.  Arthur  Tweedy,  and  his  brother,  resided  for  a  long 
time  in  the  hills  above  the  capital,  going  and  coming 
daily,  but  never  experiencing  any  trouble  except  during 
the  revolutions.  They  took  me  up  to  their  charming 
retreat,  one  evening,  and  I  enjoyed  a  cool  night,  a 
superb  view  of  the  city  and  harbor,  and  experienced 
the  delights  of  an  English  hospitality  with  Haytian 
accessories. 

By  the  Haitian  constitution,  no  foreigner  can  own 
any  realty  in  the  island;  and  if  he  would  acquire  real 
estate,  he  must  do  it  through  a  third  party,  resident 
here ;  in  other  words,  a  black  or  colored  man.  It  is  rather 
refreshing  to  find  a  country  where  the  white  man  has 
no  rights,  and  has  to  go  down  on  his  knees  for  favors 
from  his  colored  brother.  It  may  be  in  the  nature  of  a 
merciful  dispensation  of  Providence  that  the  black  man 
has  made  it  so  difficult  that  the  white  man  may  not 
desire  to  come  here ;  for  certainly  no  one  could  ask  a 
worse  punishment  for  an  enemy  than  enforced  residence 
in  Haiti.  Still,  all  the  foreign  trade  is  in  the  hands  of 
foreigners — chiefly  English,  French  and  a  few  Ameri- 


172  IN    THE    WAKE    OF   COLUMBUS. 

cans;  and  the  fortunes  some  of  them  roll  up  would  be 
enormous  —  if  they  were  permitted  to  get  away  with 
them.  But  it  usually  happens  that  just  as  the  merchant 
has  accumulated  a  snug  little  fortune,  an  incendiary 
fire  sweeps  his  warehouses  out  of  existence,  or  his  goods 
are  plundered  by  rival  revolutionists,  and  he  has  to  be- 
gin again  the  weary  life-in-death  existence  here.  The 
amenities  of  life  are  few,  aside  from  a  tropical,  equable 
climate,  and  the  pleasure  found  in  beautiful  scenery. 
The  best  citizens  here  have  instituted  a  fine  club,  the 
Cercle,  at  which  they  can  lunch,  play  billiards  and 
drink  West  Indian  decoctions.  I  was  introduced  there, 
and  found  delightful  gentlemen,  the  president  being 
the  richest  man  in  town. 

Several  papers  are  published  in  the  capital,  the  live- 
liest being  Le  Peupk,  the  editor  and  proprietor  of  which 
speaks  and  writes  English,  and  is  the  father  of  nineteen 
children.  Journalism  is  not  without  its  reward  in  Haiti, 
and  the  road  to  eminence  is  always  open  to  young  men 
of  enterprise  and  ability. 


VIII. 


THE    HAITIAN    CIVILIZATION. 


T 


'HE  Hon.  Fred- 
erick Douglas, 
our  Minister  to  Haiti , 
at  the  time  of  my 
visits,  is  a  celebrity  of 
more  than  national 
reputation.  Born  a 
slave,  yet  his  great  na- 
tural force  and  talents 
won  for  him  a  position 
that  entitled  him  to 
the  leadership  of  his 
race.  It  interested  me 
greatly  to  hear  his 
reminiscences  of  the 
exciting  times  of  ante- 
bellum days,  and  of  his 
intercourse  with  such 
famous  men  as  Web- 
ster, Winthrop,  and  the  leaders  of  the  anti-slavery  move- 
ment.    Though    seventy-four  years  old  at  the  time  I 

173 


FKEDEMt'K    DOUGLAS. 


174  IN   THE   WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

met  him,  yet  his  form  was  erect,  his  memory  of  events 
that  had  long-  since  transpired  was  wonderful,  and  he 
contemplated  writing-  out  his  recollections  of  the  stirring 
scenes  through  which  he  had  passed.  He  recalled  with 
affection  the  memory  of  his  friends  in  New  Bedford, 
when  he  made  his  first  "break"  for  freedom,  and 
detailed  his  experiences,  and  his  reception  as  an  orator, 
moved  by  the  wrongs  done  to  his  people.  As  he  went 
with  me  to  visit  all  the  officials  here,  including  those 
high  est  in  power,  not  omitting  the  President,  I  had  good 
opportunity  for  comparing  this  man  who  had  risen  to 
eminence  through  the  force  of  innate  ability  and  in- 
tegrity, with  those  who  represented  the  best  products  of 
the  Haitian  civilization. 

Before  my  arrival,  under  date  of  March  2,  Mr.  Doug- 
las had  addressed  a  note  to  the  President, introducing 
the  subject  of  the  Exposition,  and  preparing  the  way 
for  my  invitation.  This  note  was  responded  to  by  the 
Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  reciprocating  the  sentiments 
of  our  Minister,  and  giving  assurances  that  it  was  the 
desire  of  Haiti  to  participate,  but  intimating  that,  in 
the  absence  of  the  President,  who  was  in  the  interior, 
nothing  could  be  done  before  his  return. 

I  called  on  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  M.  Firmin, 
in  company  with  Mr.  Douglas,  Mr.  Bassett,  and  our 
Vice-Consul.  M.  Firmin  was  a  black  man  of  great 
ability,  affable,  intelligent,  and  conversant  with  four  lan- 
guages. I  met  also  the  son  of  the  President,  a  young 
man  of  excellent  address,  of  a  blue-black  complexion, 
like  his  father,  and,  later,  was  introduced  to  the  daughter 
and  granddaughter  of  Soulouque,  a  famous  ex-President 


THE    HAITIAN    CIVILIZATION. 


175 


of  Haiti,  who  were  living  quietly  here.  The}',  too,  had 
the  African  features  and  woolly  head,  and  the  easy 
manners  of  those  who  had  been  in  position. 

M.  Firmin  reiterated  his  assurances  of  esteem,  and 
his  interest  in  the  Exposition,  promising  to  do  all  he 
could  when  the  proper  time  should  arrive;  but  it  was 
decided  that  I  had  better  go  on  to  Jamaica,  and  return 
when  the  President  should  have  arrived. 

I  returned  to  Port  au  Prince  the  middle  of  May,  and, 
in  accordance  with  the  understanding  with  Minister 
Douglas,  was  presented 
to  the  President,  who 
had  arrived  during  my 
absence.  The  national 
palace  is  situated  on  the 
seaward  side  of  the 
Champs  de  Mars;  it  is 
an  unpretentious  build- 
ing of  brick  and  wood, 
rambling  and  mis- 
shapen. Ragged  sol- 
diers, barefooted  and 
dirty,  make  a  pretense 
of  guarding  this  abode 
of  authority,  and  one  is 
ushered  through  a  lower 
hall,  adorned  with  Gat- 
ling  guns  and  statuary  of  ante-negro  times,  into  an 
upper  saloon  with  little  furniture  and  of  drear  aspect,  to 
await  the  coming  of  "  His  Excellency."  After  a  while 
he   appeared  —  the   renowned    Hyppolite,  the   present 


HYPPOLITE. 


176  IN    THE    WAKE    OF   COLUMBUS. 

President  of  Haiti,  the  conqueror  from  the  North  and 
actual  Dictator.  I  was  presented  in  due  form,  my  cre- 
dentials and  my  mission  were  recited  by  the  Minister's 
secretary,  and  I  was  then  launched  upon  the  long- 
expected  interview. 

As  had  been  anticipated,  "His  Excellency"  raised 
many  objections  to  the  proposed  participation  of  Haiti 
in  the  forthcoming-  Exposition;  and,  in  truth,  it  was  not 
an  auspicious  moment  for  negotiation,  owing  to  the  very 
recent  attempt  at  the  acquisition  of  Mole  St.  Nicolas, 
and  the  bad  odor  of  diplomatic  failure  attendant  thereon, 
consequent  upon  bad  faith  on  one  side  or  the  other. 
But,  ignoring  the  fact  that  the  President  was  nursing  a 
feeling  of  irritation  toward  our  Government,  and  would 
welcome  an  opportunity  for  the  bestowal  of  a  snub,  I 
exerted  myself  to  the  utmost  to  win  him  over  to  my 
cause.  It  was  but  too  evident,  as  the  President  observed 
and  urged,  that  Haiti  had  nothing  of  consequence  to 
send  us,  and  she  would  run  the  risk  of  appearing  ridicu- 
lous in  comparison  with  other  and  greater  Powers ;  but 
that  was  not  the  view  of  the  question  I  chose  to  enter- 
tain. My  mission  was  to  get  her  to  accept  the  invita- 
tion of  our  Government,  whether  she  had  an  exhibit  to 
send  or  not;  and  I  determined  to  work  to  that  end, 
keeping  in  mind  the  moral  aspect  of  the  matter,  and 
allowing  the  subsequent  details  to  settle  themselves. 

Consequently,  when  these  objections  of  a  purely 
negative  character  came  up,  and  the  Chief  Magistrate 
arrayed  them  in  order,  presenting  (as  I  had  to  confess 
to  myself)  a  formidable  appearance,  I  did  not  combat 
them ;  I  merely  soared  above  them.     Pluming  my  wings 


THE    HAITIAN    CIVILIZATION. 


177 


for  a  lofty  flight  into  the  empyrean  (at  .the  same  time 
feeling  that  the  slightest  mistake  might  precipitate  a 
lofty  tumble),  I  looked  His  Excellency  straight  in  the 
eye,  and  raised  him  off  his  metaphorical  feet.  In  a 
word,  I  appealed  to  his  patriotism,  his  amor  patricz,  his 
pride,  his  ambition ;  I  reviewed  the  glorious  history  of 
conquest,    beginning  with    the  immortal   deeds  of  the 


.*     J 


TTYPPOLITE    AND    STAFF. 


illustrious  Toussaint  L'Ouverture,  and  tracing  the  ad- 
vance of  liberty  along  the  thorny  paths  of  virtue,  down 
to  the  present  day.  I  will  confess  to  some  misgivings 
when  I  came  to  mention  the  doings  of  Toussaint's  suc- 
cessors; but  by  that  time  I  had  really  worked  myself 
into  an  oratorical  frenzy.  Magnanimously  ignoring 
their  various  misdeeds,  I  concluded  with  an  impassioned 


178  IN   THE   WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

appeal  to  the  sons  of  Haiti  to  remember  the  glorious 
triumphs  of  their  ancestors,  to  recollect  that  their  island 
was  now  the  cynosure  of  all  eyes,  and  that  the  world 
was  watching,  with  bated  breath,  their  treatment  of  the 
problem  of  self-government.  In  short,  I  urged  them  to 
send  to  Chicago  an  exhibit  that  should  illustrate,  not 
alone  the  vast  natural  wealth  of  Haiti,  not  alone  her 
material  resources,  but  above  all  these  to  hang  out  the 
banner  of  progress,  and  to  show  to  the  waiting  world 
the  advanced  position  she  had  taken  in  the  galaxy  of 
republics.  With  outward  calm  (though  not  without 
some  inward  trepidation)  I  awaited  the  President's  re- 
sponse. It  came,  at  last.  Being  a  man  of  intelligence, 
who  had  sometimes  aroused  his  own  people  to  action  in 
somewhat  the  same  style,  he  was,  perhaps,  at  first  a 
little  suspicious  of  my  perfervid  appeal ;  but  a  glance  at 
my  hopeful  countenance  reassured  him.  He  acknowl- 
edged that  my  views  were  novel,  and  that  he  had  not 
entertained  them  before;  but  that  they  were  worthy 
of  consideration,  and  he  would  submit  them  to  his 
cabinet. 

That  was  all  I  could  do,  and  I  retired,  next  day  sailing 
for  Santo  Domingo ;  but  soon  after  I  had  the  satisfac- 
tion of  hearing  that  his  recommendation  was  adopted, 
and  that  the  sum  of  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  had 
been  appropriated  toward  Haiti's  participation  in  the 
Exposition.  And,  to  show  that  it  was  not,  as  some  of 
the  enemies  of  the  republic  averred,  an  appropriation 
to  be  "  appropriated"  by  the  enterprise  of  some  greedy 
politician,  the  following  notice  from  a  newspaper  of 
Chicago,  before  this  book  went  to  press,  is  submitted: 


THE   HAITIAN    CIVILIZATION.  179 

"Chicago,  January  3,  1893.  — Of  all  the  foreign  powers  taking  part  in 
the  World's  Fair,  the  little  republic  of  Haiti  was  first  to  complete  its 
building,  yesterday.  It  was  the  ninetieth  anniversary  of  the  indepen- 
dence of  the  island, the  Haitian  pavilion  being  dedicated  in  the  presence 
of  a  small  audience  composed  of  Exposition  officials  and  colored  citi- 
zens of  Chicago.  Frederick  Douglas,  ex-minister  of  Haiti,  delivered 
the  principal  address,  at  the  request  of  President  Hyppolite.  Director- 
General  Davis  responded.  The  exercises  were  held  in  the  main  hall  of 
the  building." 

Since  I  recommended  the  Haitians  to  make  an  ex- 
hibit illustrative  of  their  advance  on  the  road  to  civiliza- 
tion, perhaps  I  cannot  do  less  than  present  herewith 
a  statement  of  their  actual  status,  as  viewed  by  ac- 
knowledged authorities,  and  supplemented  by  my  own 
observations. 

The  island  of  Haiti  is  one  of  the  richest  regions,  in 
natural  resources,  on  the  face  of  the  globe.  God  has 
endowed  it  with  everything  necessary  for  the  mainte- 
nance of  man,  and  in  addition  has  bestowed  upon  it 
blessings,  in  the  way  of  climate,  scenery,  and  position, 
that  render  it  an  earthly  paradise. 

The  greatest  length  of  the  island  of  Santo  Domingo 
is  some  four  hundred  miles,  its  breadth  over  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty,  and  of  this  the  portion  known  as  Haiti 
occupies  the  western  third.  It  is  well-watered,  with 
rich  soil,  beautiful  scenery,  tropical  climate,  and  entirely 
in  possession  of  the  blacks. 

The  capital  and  largest  city  is  Port  an  Prince.  It  is 
situated  at  the  bottom  of  a  deep  and  picturesque  bay, 
facing  west,  and  contains  some  twenty  thousand  inhabi- 
tants. Its  natural  advantages  are  many,  but  its  social 
and  intellectual   advantages  are   conspicuous  by  their 


180  IN   THE   WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

absence.  Says  a  recent  resident,  one  who  was  com- 
pelled to  live  for  years  in  the  city: 

' '  It  may  bear  away  the  palm  of  being  the  most  foul- 
smelling,  dirty,  and  consequently  fever-stricken  city,  in 
the  world.  Every  one  throws  his  refuse  before  his 
door,  so  that  heaps  of  manure  and  every  species  of 
rubbish  encumber  the  way." 

As  to  the  streets,  they  do  not  seem  to  have  been 
mended  for  the  last  hundred  years.  The  Haitians  have 
a  saying,  "  Bon  Dien  gate  li ;  bon  Dien  pare  li"  — God 
spoilt  them,  and  God  will  mend  them.  As  the  "bon 
Dien  "  only  helps  those  who  help  themselves,  and  as  the 
Haitians  have  no  desire  to  help  themselves  in  the  way 
of  making  or  repairing  their  roadways,  their  condition 
is  frightful  beyond  description.  "The  gutters  are  open, 
pools  of  stagnant  and  fetid  water  obstruct  the  streets 
everywhere,  and  receive  constant  accessions  from  the 
inhabitants  using  them  as  cesspools  and  sewers.  There 
are  few  good  buildings  in  town,  and  none  in  the  country, 
the  torch  of  the  incendiary  being  constantly  applied, 
and  no  encouragement  offered  to  rebuild,  through  pro- 
tection of  the  Government  or  local  enterprise.  Build- 
ings destroyed  by  earthquake  or  fire  are  never  replaced, 
and  the  nearest  approach  to  rebuilding  is  seen  in  the 
slab  shanty  leaning  against  the  ruined  walls  of  a  large 
structure  demolished."  Fires  are  continually  occurring, 
and  are  nearly  always  regarded  as  the  precursors  of 
outbreaks,  or  revolutions.  During  my  brief  stay  sev- 
eral fires  occurred,  the  premonitory  symptoms  of  the 
great  uprising  that  resulted  in  the  terrible  massacre  of 
May,  1891.      The  town  is  more  than  half  in  ruins,  but 


THE    HAITIAN   CIVILIZATION. 


ABANDONED   ESTATE  —  COAST   OF   HAITI. 

the  people  residing  here  are  a  happy-go-lucky  lot,  good 
natured,  self-sufficient,  regarding  Haiti  as  the  center  of 
the  universe,  and  their  capital  as  a  second  Paris. 

During  the  French  occupation,  or  until  a  hundred 
years  ago,  there  were  large  estates  on  the  island,  and 
the  planters  derived  immense  wealth   from  an  intelli- 


182  IN   THE   WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

gent  cultivation  of  the  soil;  but  now  there  is  not  an 
estate  under  cultivation  that  produces  more  than  enough 
sugar-cane  to  supply  its  miserable  proprietors  with  rum. 
To  the  vast  and  numerous  coffee  plantations  in  the  hills, 
the  negro  laid  claim  as  conqueror,  and  these  estates 
have  been  the  chief  source  of  Haitian  revenue  ever 
since.  The  negro  peasantry  in  the  mountains  bring 
the  produce  of  these  plantations  down  to  the  cities, 
where  it  is  taken  in  hand  by  the  political  workers  who 
hold  the  customs  and  the  bulk  of  the  receipts  appro- 
priated. As  the  only  revenue  is  derived  from  the  cus- 
toms at  the  ports,  and  as  there  are  no  other  taxes,  the 
most  desirable  offices  in  the  gift  of  the  Government, 
are  those  that  enable  the  occupants  to  get  their  hands 
on  the  exports  and  imports.  It  is  no  crime  to  steal 
from  the  State,  they  say;  indeed,  it  has  passed  into  a 
proverb  that  passes  current  everywhere:  Prendre  V ar- 
gent dc  Ve'tat,  ce  n 'est  pas  vo/er." 

The  office  of  collector  of  the  port  is  regarded  with 
highest  favor,  and  if  the  incumbent  does  not  collect 
enough  for  himself  in  a  reasonably  short  time,  he  is  re- 
moved, or  "promoted,"  and  another  given  a  chance. 
This  is  their  chief  motive  for  the  numerous  revolutions: 
not  the  love  of  country,  which  they  so  frequently  vaunt, 
but  the  desire  to  have  a  share  in  the  spoliation  of  their 
island.  Revolutions  have  occurred  with  rapidity  and 
regularity  for  the  past  eighty  years,  and  a  narrative  of 
the  doings  of  the  various  black,  yellow,  or  coffee- colored 
"Presidents"  who  have  foisted  themselves  upon  the 
people,  and  seized  the  spoils  of  their  industry,  would  be 
as  uninteresting  as  unprofitable.     With  here  and  there 


THE    HAITIAN    CIVILIZATION. 


183 


an  exception,  their  only  aim  has  been  to  enrich  them- 
selves ;  and  it  may  be  stated  without  fear  of  refutation, 
that  there  is  not  the  shadowiest  semblance  of  true  patri- 
otism in  the  island  of  Haiti ;  if  there  is,  it  does  not 
appear  in  the  acts  of  those  in  official  life. 

The  present  President,  Hyppolite,  has  held  office 
longer  than  many  of  his  predecessors,  having  come 
down  from  the  north  of  Haiti  a  few  years  ago  and 
ousted  Legitime,  who  was 
then  the  ruler,  but  who  now 
languishes  in  Jamaica, await- 
ing an  opportunity  for  rein- 
statement. Jamaica, in  fact, 
is  infested  with  ex-presi- 
dents and  ex-cabinet  officers, 
anxiously  looking  across  the 
channel  for  some  sign  of  dis- 
turbance that  will  enable 
them  to  return  to  their  be- 
loved country  and  more 
beloved  positions  of  inde- 
pendence. Nearly  all  the 
"revolutions"  that  have 
appeared  so  frequently  in 
the  press,  of  late,  have  had 

their  inception,  as  well  as  their  scenes  of  action,  in 
the  neutral  island  of  Jamaica.  These  ex-dignitaries 
and  quasi-revolutionists  are  nearly  all  well  supplied 
with  funds,  having  taken  care  of  themselves  when  in 
office  and  "skipped"  at  an  opportune  moment.  It  is 
only  as   they  become  impoverished  and    the  necessity 


D.    F.    LEGITIME. 


184  IN   THE   WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

for  labor  stares  them  in  the  face,  that  their  patriotism 
asserts  itself  and  they  see  in  the  present  incumbent 
a  vampire  and  a  traitor  to  his  country,  who  is  wax- 
ing fat  on  the  sweat  and  blood  of  his  fellow-citizens. 
Then  their  indignation  at  these  sufferings  of  the  down- 
trodden and  oppressed  of  Haiti  knows  no  bounds,  and 
they  issue  pronnnciamentos  calling  upon  their  fellow 
countrymen  to  rise  in  their  might  and  shake  off  the 
clutch  of  the  oppressor.  And  if  the  down-trodden 
fellow-countrymen  do  rise,  and  in  sufficient  strength, 
these  revolutionists  charter  a  vessel  and  hasten  to 
Haiti,  hovering  in  the  harbor  until  well  assured  their 
friends  are  likely  to  prove  victorious,  when  they  dash 
in  boldly  and  valiantly,  just  in  season  to  snatch  the  re- 
ward of  the  customs. 

It  was  less  than  two  weeks  after  my  departure  from 
Port  au  Prince,  in  May,  1891,  that  the  bloodiest  out- 
break occurred  in  the  annals  of  recent  Haitian  out- 
rages. A  body  of  men  marched  upon  the  prison  and 
liberated  the  convicts;  next  they  attacked  the  arsenal, 
possessed  themselves  of  arms,  and  met  the  Government 
troops ;  but  they  were  finally  dispersed,  retreating  upon 
the  smallpox  cemetery,  near  the  town.  They  were 
eventually  driven  to  the  woods,  but  many  were  captured 
and  summarily  shot,  more  executions  occurring  in  cold 
blood  than  in  the  heat  of  conflict.  The  prisoners  were 
shot  without  trial,  so  it  is  said,  until  over  two  hundred 
were  executed,  and  the  name  of  Hyppolite  became  a 
stench  in  the  nostrils  of  the  revolutionists.  For  this 
massacre  of  his  subjects  he  was  blamed  without  stint, 
by  those  not  cognizant  with  the  circumstances  and  the 


THE    HAITIAN   CIVILIZATION.  185 

dangers  surrounding  him;  but  the  simple  truth  of  the 
matter  is,  that  it  was  either  Hyppolite  or  the  rebels  that 
must  perish,  and  the  President  naturally  preferred  it 
.should  be  the  other  party.  He  may  have  erred  on  the 
side  of  excessive  severity;  but  at  all  events,  there  will 
not  be  so  many  revolutionists  to  rise  in  rebellion  next 
time,  and  the  Haitians  in  Jamaica  have  since  been 
remarkably  quiet. 

To  show  how  little  attention  the  foreign  residents 
paid  to  this  massacre  that  was  going  on  among  them,  I 
may  quote  from  a  letter  written  me  at  the  time  by  a 
friend  dwelling  in  Haiti,  in  which  he  alludes  to  it  as  a 
"disturbance,"  saying  that  many  summary  executions 
took  place  in  the  streets,  but  that,  though  many  inno- 
cent lives  were  lost,  he  hoped  peace  would  soon  be 
restored. 

Founded  as  it  is  upon  force,  with  the  strongest  man 
at  the  head,  nominally  as  president,  but  in  reality  a 
dictator,  the  Black  Republic  cannot  endure  another 
century  as  it  is  going  now,  without  calling  to  it  the  at- 
tention of  the  world,  and  exciting  its  strongest  reproba- 
tion. It  is  the  desire  of  more  than  one  Government 
that  the  United  States  should  take  this  irresponsible 
Island  republic  in  hand  and  administer  to  it  a  salutary  les- 
son. Nothing  short  of  extermination,  some  aver,  could 
effect  a  reform  in  the  Haitian  body  politic;  but  as  this 
age  does  not  tolerate  the  radical  measures  of  the  olden 
time  it  is  not  probable  that  the  present  generation  will 
experience  a  reformation.  Sir  Spencer  St.  John,  who 
was  formerly  the  English  Minister-Resident  in  Haiti, 
and  who  wrote  an  exhaustive  account  of  the  doings  in 


186 


IN   THE   WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 


the  Black  Republic,  says  of  it,  amongst  other  things 
not  complimentary:  "No  country  possesses  greater 
capabilities,  or  a  better  geographical  position,  or  more 
varied  soil,  climate,  or  production,  with  magnificent 
scenery  of  every  description;  and  yet  it  is  now  the 
country   to   be    avoided,   ruined    as   it   has   been   by  a 


&  ♦  >J 


A    VIEW    FROM    THE    RESIDENCE    OF    THE    ENGLISH    CONSUL  — HAITI. 

succession  of  self-seeking  politicians,  without  honesty 
or  patriotism."  And  he  adds:  "I  know  what  the 
black  man  is,  and  I  have  no  hesitation  in  declaring 
that  he  is  incapable  of  the  art  of  government;  and 
to  intrust  him  with  framing  and  working  the  laws 
for  our  (English)  islands  is  to  condemn  them  to  in- 
evitable   ruin.      What    the    ne?ro    may    become    after 


THE    HAITIAN    CIVILIZATION.  187 

centuries  of  civilized  education,  I  cannot  tell ;  but  what 
I  know  is,  that  he  is  not  fit  to  govern  now.  There  are 
brilliant  exceptions,  doubtless,  but  as  a  race  they  are 
incapable." 

He  does  not  deny  that  the  Haitian  of  the  better 
class  is  well  educated,  as  the  wealthy  class  send  their 
children  to  France,  sparing  no  expense  to  secure  them 
an  education.  But  he  declares  that  they  do  not  benefit 
by  these  advantages  as  they  should,  and  that  the  aver- 
age Haitian  is  only  an  American  negro  with  a  French 
veneer. 

So  many  hard  things  have  been  thrown  at  the  Haitians, 
that  I  myself  do  not  feel  inclined  to  join  in  the  attack; 
but  truth  compels  one  to  admit  that  there  is  very  little 
visible  to  the  stranger,  either  in  their  private  or  public 
life,  worthy  of  emulation.  It  would  seem,  then,  that 
the  Haitian  civilization  has  not  been  a  brilliant  success: 
that,  in  fact,  it  has  not  been  advanced  any  during  the 
century  that  has  passed  since  the  expulsion  of  the 
French  and  the  negro  has  had  the  privilege  of  gov- 
erning himself;  but,  on  the  contrary,  that  it  has. 
retrogressed. 

At  the  time  of  my  visit,  the  city  was  practically  under 
martial  law ;  soldiers  were  camped  in  the  streets,  cannon 
and  Gatling  guns  were  at  every  corner,  and  all  life  in  the 
streets  Was  suspended  after  dark.  No  one  could  pass 
unchallenged;  the  cries  of  the  sentinels  were  heard 
on  every  side  throughout  the  night,  with  occasional 
reports  of  firearms  by  way  of  emphasis.  The  soldiers 
composing  the  Haitian  army  are  the  sorriest  specimens 
of  humanity  that  were  ever  put  into  uniform.     They 


188  IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS 

are  generally  barefooted,  clad  in  rags,  and  many  seek 
subsistence  by  begging  through  the  streets.  I  have 
been  approached  many  times  by  these  poor  beggars, 
asking  alms  with  humble  mien,  and  satisfied  with  the 
smallest  coin.  The  pay  of  the  rank  and  file,  it  is  said, 
is  only  twelve  dollars  a  year,  and  of  even  this  small 
sum  they  are  sometimes  defrauded.  The  nominal 
strength  of  the  army  is  some  twenty  thousand,  com- 
posed of  general,  staff  and  regimental  officers  to  the 
number  of  about  fourteen  thousand,  and  the  remainder, 
privates,  who  do  the  fighting  and  have  little  chance  of 
promotion.  Their  guns  are  rusty  old  rifles,  and  the 
principal  weapon  which  nearly  all  carry  is  the  "coco- 
macaque,"  a  tough  stick,  with  which  terrible  blows 
can  be  inflicted.  Every  man  of  prominence  is  called 
"general,"  and  men  of  this  rank  are  very  numerous 
everywhere.  The  "generals"  wear  all  sorts  of  uni- 
forms, without  reference  to  their  rank,  apparently;  in 
one  group,  at  Cape  Haitian,  I  saw  five  brigadiers,  each 
one  with  a  coat  of  different  cut  and  color  from  that  of 
his  fellows,  but  all  with  long  plumes  in  their  cocked 
hats. 

In  writing  of  Haiti,  one  cannot  ignore  the  fact  that 
the  masses,  especially  in  the  mountains,  are  steeped  in 
the  superstition  of  the  African  Serpent-worship,  or 
Voudism.  I  saw  the  objects  used  in  the  cannibal  cere- 
monies in  the  museum  of  the  Petit  Seminaire,  at  the 
capital,  which  had  been  taken  from  convicted  cannibals, 
who  were  executed  for  their  crimes.  These  were:  a 
Voudou  drum,  a  tambou,  collars  of "  the  papa  hi,  or 
high  priests,  etc.  ;  and  these  visible  reminders  of  can- 


THE    HAITIAN    CIVILIZATION.  189 

nibalism  set  me  to  inquiring  as  to  its  prevalence  in  the 
island. 

We  must  not,  however,  confound  the  African  Serpent- 
worship,  called  Voudou,  with  cannibalism,  for  the  latter 
is  an  excrescence,  or  outgrowth  of  the  former.  The 
whole  island  is  tainted  with  the  Voudou,  but  com- 
paratively few  of  its  followers  practice  the  grosser  rites. 

It  is  distinctively  derived  from  Africa,  and  has  been 
in  practice  ever  since  the  first  importation  of  African 
slaves,  or  for  at  least  three  hundred  years.  During  the 
French  occupation  it  was  suppressed  to  a  great  extent, 
but  at  the  massacres  and  after  the  extermination  of  the 
white  people,  it  revived  in  all  its  original  strength.  It 
was  then,  perhaps,  that  the  horrible  practice  was  intro- 
duced of  sacrificing  white  and  colored  children;  and, 
like  tigers  that  have  had  a  taste  of  human  blood,  the 
cannibals  still  thirst  for  it  with  terrible  intensity.  They 
prowl  around  the  settlements,  seeking  occasion  to  ab- 
duct young  white  and  colored  children,  whom  they 
carry  to  the  mountains,  fatten,  keep  until  certain  days 
appointed  for  their  ceremonies,  and  then  kill  and  devour. 
The  constant  and  haunting  fear  overshadowing  every 
white  mother  in  Haiti  is  of  these  Loup-garous,  or  human 
wolves.  Nurses  are  sometimes  in  league  with  them, 
and  even  the  grave  is  made  an  instrument  for  their 
horrible  designs. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  negroes  of  the  mountains 
are  acquainted  with  the  properties  of  plants  as  yet  un- 
known to  the  materia  medica,  and  with  them  work  won- 
derful cures,  as  well  as  evil  spells,  even  apparently 
bringing   the    dead  back  to  life.     So  it   happens  that, 


190  IN    THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

when  the  cannibals  are  in  want  of  victims  for  sacrifice, 
they  find  some  means  of  administering  a  native  narcotic, 
which  soon  produces  coma,  and  apparent  death,  to  some 
white  or  colored  child,  and  after  it  is  buried,  disinter 
and  resuscitate  it  for  their  horrid  feasts. 

The  serpent  is  the  deity  of  the  Voudous,  and  he  is 
represented  by  a  high  priest,  called  the  papa  lot,  and  a 
priestess,  the  mama  lot;  meaning  the  father  and  the 
mother  king.  Their  commands  are  absolute,  and  no 
sectary  dare  disobey  them.  In  this  lies  their  menace 
to  good  government,  and  it  is  well  known  that  even 
some  of  the  rulers  of  Haiti  have  been  dominated  by 
them.  The  worship  of  the  serpent  is  carried  on  as 
secretly  as  possible;  the  sectaries  are  bound  by  oaths 
of  secrecy,  and  their  incantations  take  place  in  the 
night.  The  serpent  is  consulted,  through  the  priest  or 
priestess,  and  the  devotees  then  indulge  in  dancing 
and  song,  generally  ending  in  the  grossest  forms  of 
debauchery. 

Thus  far,  except  for  the  influence  exercised  by  the 
papa  and  mania  lot  and  the  menace  to  the  State  of  an 
oath-bound  order  of  the  most  degenerate  people,  the 
Voudous  are  not  particularly  objectionable;  but  they 
are  soon  carried  away  by  excess  of  frenzy,  and  demand 
a  further  excitement  in  the  shape  of  a  sacrifice. 

Usually,  this  offering  of  propitiation  to  the  serpent  is 
in  the  form  of  a  goat  or  a  cock,  always  white  and  spot- 
less. These  offerings  satisfy  the  milder  members  of 
the  order,  but  there  are  others  who  will  not  be  content 
without  the  sacrifice  of  a  child.  This  human  offering 
is  called  "the  goat  without  horns,"  and  when  such  a 


THE    HAITIAN  CIVILIZATION. 


191 


demand  is  made  means  are  always  found  for  furnishing 
a  victim.  Verified  statements  of  the  occurrences  of 
such  sacrifices  and  the  subsequent  cannibal  feasts  have 
been  made  to  the  authorities,  and  men  and  women  have 
been  shot  for  their  indulgence  in  them.  Within  a 
few  years  an  account  was  published  in  the  leading 
paper  of  Port  au  Prince  of  the  arrest  of  some  men  and 
women  who  had  carried  on  a  regular  business  of  killing 
people  and  of  selling  their  "meat"  in  open  market. 
This  was  in  1885,  and  a  year  later  the  same  paper 
makes  mention  of  the  arrest  and  conviction  of  several 
people  who  had  killed  and  eaten  others,  and  among  the 
victims  the  sister-in-law  of  the  chief. 

But  enough  has  been  cited  to  show  that  cannibalism 
still  flourishes  in  Haiti,  and  that  it  will  take  more 
vigorous  action  on  the  part  of  the  authorities  than  has 
yet  been  exercised  to  extirpate  this  evil. 


IX. 


THE  BUCCANEERS  AND  THE  BLACK  KING. 

ADJACENT  to  the  north  coast  of  Haiti,  less  than 
five  miles  distant  from  the  harbor  of  Port  de 
Paix,  lies  the  desolate  island  of  Tortuga.  It  was  at  one 
time  the  pirates'  rendezvous,  the  ancient  haunt  of  the 
dreaded  buccaneers. 

This  small  island,  called  by  the  Spaniards  Tortuga,. 
from  its  resemblance  to  a  sea-turtle,  tortuga  de  viar, 
commands  the  great  sea  channel  between  Cuba  and 
Haiti  and  the  water  highway  to  Jamaica.  Early  per- 
ceiving its  importance  from  a  strategic  point  of  view, 
the  pirates  who  had  marked  the  commerce  of  Spanish 
America  for  their  prey,  took  possession  of  and  held  it 
for  many  years. 

It  had  no  harbors  large  enough  for  the  entrance  of 
ships,  but  it  abounded  in  numerous  coves  and  shallow 
bays,  while  the  interior  was  avast  and  tangled  forest; 
the  situation  was,  therefore,  all  but  impregnable.  With 
their  sentinels  on  the  watch  for  the  richly  freighted 
galleons  coming  up  from  Panama  and  the  Spanish 
Main,  the  pirates  had  the  king  of  Spain's  revenues  at 
their  mercy.      Many  a  million  in  gold  and  silver  have 

192 


THE   BUCCANEERS    AND   THE    BLACK   KING  193 

they  carried  to  that  wild  retreat,  and  to  many  a  bout 
and  carousal  have  the  now  desolate  crags  reverberated. 
Orgies  were  the  order  of  the  night,  and  murders  the 
business  of  the  day,  while  Spanish  wine  supplied  the 
stimulant,  and  Spanish  gold  procured  the  luxuries  of 
the  world. 

The  discovery  of  Tortuga  was  coincident  with  that  of 
Haiti,  for  Columbus  sought  shelter  from  a  storm  in  a 


TORTUGA  —  THE   PIRATES'    PARADISE. 


bay  on  its  southern  shore,  one  night  in  December,  1492. 
Thirty  years  later  the  French,  who  had  been  attracted 
to  the  Spanish  acquisitions  in  America,  drew  stealthily 
into  the  Caribbean  Sea,  and  the  French  corsairs  be- 
came annoying. 

In  the  year  1529,  a  French  squadron  was  in  the 
Caribbean,  and  an  English  vessel  arrived  at  Santo 
Domingo.       In     1538    (the    same    year   that    De    Soto 


194  IN    THE    WAKE    OF   COLUMBUS. 

arrived  at  Havana),  a  protracted  and  bloody  sea-fight 
occurred  off  that  port  between  a  Spanish  and  a  French 
corsair,  while  in  1541,  the  year  that  Orellana  sailed 
down  the  Amazon,  the  French  and  English  did  great 
injury  to  the  Spanish  trade;  though  the  West  Indies 
were  then  in  decline,  while  Mexico  and  Peru  were 
yielding  stores  of  gold  and  silver. 

In  1563,  that  prince  of  slave  stealers,  Sir  John  Haw- 
kins, brought  negroes  from  Africa  to  Spanish  American 
ports,  which  he  had  obtained  "partly  by  the  sword  and 
partly  by  other  means,"  and  sold  them  at  immense 
profit.  Nine  years  later,  in  1572,  there  came  into  these 
seas,  pillaging  and  burning,  Sir  Francis  Drake  —  that 
knightly  pirate,  who,  the  year  following,  from  a  peak 
in  Darien,  first  saw  the  great  Pacific,  the  waters  of 
which  no  English  keel  had  ever  cleft. 

Succeeding  the  invasions  of  these  pirates,  came  an- 
other class  of  voyagers;  the  adventurous  colonists. 
Another  noted  name  now  rises  against  the  widening 
horizon.  For,  in  the  year  1585,  Sir  Richard  Grenville, 
with  seven  sail,  cruised  from  Dominica  to  Puerto  Rico, 
and  thence  to  Virginia,  where  he  left  a  colony  of  one 
hundred  men  upon  the  island  of  Roanoke.  The  year 
following,  Drake,  after  attacking  and  capturing  Santo 
Domingo  and  Cartagena,  coasted  Cuba  and  Florida,  and 
finding  the  perishing  colonists  on  Roanoke  took  them 
home  to  England.  The  next  year  came  the  expedition 
of  Mariner  White,  who,  with  three  vessels  and  one 
hundred  and  fifty  men,  sailed  between  Dominica  and 
Guadeloupe  and  touched  at  Santa  Cruz.  Here  the 
sailors   were    poisoned    by   the    attractive   manchineel 


THE   BUCCANEERS    AND   THE   BLACK   KING.  195 

apples  lying  on  the  sand,  as  the  log-book  quaintly  says: 
"By  eating  a  small  fruit  like  green  apples  they  were 
fearfully  troubled  with  a  sudden  burning,  also  a  child 
at  the  breast  had  its  mouth  set  in  such  burning  that  it 
was  strange  to  see  how  the  infant  was  tormented  for 
the  time."  On  the  fourth  of  July,  1587,  they  made 
Haiti;  on  the  sixteenth,  Virginia,  and  on  the  twenty- 
second  landed  at  "  Haterack,  '  where  the  first  child  was 
born.  And  this  first  infant  born  to  that  ill-fated  colony 
of  Raleigh's,  was  Virginia  Dare.  Thus  we  note  how 
inextricably  interwoven  are  the  threads  of  history  in 
this  New  World,  and  the  intimate  connection  between 
the  sunny  isles  I  am  describing  and  our  northern 
colonies. 

Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  who  had  long  viewed  this  west- 
ern continent  from  a  distance,  at  last  arrived  at  Trini- 
dad and  ascended  the  Orinoco,  in  1596.  Sir  Francis 
Drake  died  the  same  year,  and  was  buried  at  sea,  off 
Porto  Bello.  The  closing  decade  of  the  sixteenth  cent- 
ury finds  English  ships  everywhere  ploughing  West 
Indian  waters,  and,  in  1607,  three  great  names  sail  across 
our  vision  as  we  scan  those  southern  seas.  Sir  Chris- 
topher Newport,  in  company  with  Captain  John  Smith 
and  Bartholomew  Gosnold,  sighted  Martinique,  landed 
at  Dominica,  and  in  Guadeloupe  found  a  wonderful  hot 
spring.  "Our  admiral,  Captain  Newport,  caused  a  piece 
of  pork  to  be  put  in  it,  which  boiled  it  so  in  the  space  of 
naif  an  hour,  as  no  fire  could  mend  it. "  Thence,  after 
three  weeks  among  the  Caribbees,  they  sailed  by  way 
of  Nevis,  to  Virginia,  founding  the  first  permanent 
colony  on  the  James.      Ten  years  later,  Raleigh  again 


196  IN   THE   WAKE    OF   COLUMBUS. 

sailed  for  the  Orinoco,  in  the  ill-fated  Destiny,  from 
which  expedition  he  returned  to  be  beheaded  in  the 
Tower. 

And  now,  after  this  roundabout  digression,  pursuing 
those  historical  personages  who  had  invaded  our  chosen 
field  of  action,  we  return  to  the  little  island  off  the  coast 
of  Haiti;  for  it  was  shortly  after  Raleigh  and  his  com- 
panions had  done  their  work  of  colonizing  that  this 
island  rose  to  prominence. 

The  English  and  French  colonists  were  looked  upon 
by  the  Spanish  as  intruders ;  they  were  ousted  on  every 
occasion,  and,  in  1630,  a  Spanish  admiral,  Don  Frederic 
Toledo,  drove  them  away  from  the  island  of  St.  Kitt's, 
where  they  were  doing  no  harm,  forcing  them  to  seek 
another  retreat.  The  most  desperate  of  them  settled 
on  the  island  of  Tortuga,  joined  with  them  some  Dutch 
adventurers,  styling  themselves  the  "  Brethren  of  the 
Sea,"  and  began  to  prey  upon  the  Spanish  commerce. 
The  Spaniards  termed  them  "  Filibusteros, "  from  the 
little  boats  they  used  called  filibotes ;  hence  our  term, 
filibuster;  but  eventually  they  received  the  generic 
name  of  "Buccaneers,"  derived  from  the  Carib  word 
bout  an  —  applied  to  the  process  of  cooking  meat  on  a 
spit  over  an  open  fire,  in  the  Carib  Indian  fashion. 
They  derived  many  words  direct  from  the  Carib;  as,  for 
example,  ajoupa,  a  native  hut,  which  is  used  to  designate 
such  a  shelter  to-day;  I  myself  have  many  times  slept 
in  the  woods  beneath  an  ajoupa,  my  companions  the 
descendants  of  the  very  Caribs  from  whom  the  bucca- 
neers obtained  their  words  and  wigwams. 

During  the  greater  part  of  the  seventeenth  century 


THE   BUCCANEERS   AND   THE    BLACK   KING.  197 

these  buccaneers  ruled  the  seas  adjacent  to  Tortuga, 
and  even  made  plundering  expeditions  to  Cuba  and  the 
Spanish  Main.  They  divided  themselves  into  groups, 
or  bands,  one  for  plunder  on  the  high  seas,  one  for 
hunting  the  wild  cattle  that  swarmed  in  the  island  of 
Haiti,  across  the  channel,  and  another  for  killing  and 
salting  the  meat  of  the  wild  hogs.  They  were  rarely 
defeated  in  an  encounter,  for  they  fought  to  the  death, 
sinking  or  burning  their  boats  when  they  boarded  an 
enemy,  and  staking  everything  on  their  ventures. 

Their  first  great  leader  was  called  Peter  the  Great, 
and  his  initial  adventure  as  their  captain  signalized  him 
as  desperate  enough  for  any  deed  of  blood  or  daring,  for 
he  boarded  the  ship  of  a  Spanish  vice-admiral,  seeking 
him  out  in  his  cabin,  and  taking  the  big  ship  through 
sheer  pluck  and  bravado,  having  only  a  handful  of  men 
at  his  back. 

The  greatest  name  the  buccaneers  have  handed  down 
to  history  is  that  of  Morgan,  who,  with  twelve  sail  and 
seven  hundred  fighting  men,  took  and  sacked  many 
cities  on  the  Spanish  Main.  In  1 671,  he  captured  the 
city  of  Panama.  Then,  with  the  immense  plunder  in 
his  possession,  he  retired  to  Jamaica,  where  he  lived 
in  honored  retirement,  and  was  knighted  by  the  British 
crown.  Another  famous  buccaneer  was  Van  Home, 
who  robbed  Vera  Cruz  of  over  six  million  dollars,  and 
escaped  with  his  boats  in  the  sight  of  a  Spanish 
squadron. 

Now  and  then  the  buccaneers  turned  their  atten- 
tion to  the  sunken  galleons  that  storm  or  battle  had 
sent  to  the  bottom  of  the  sea.  recovering  great  treasure 


198  IN   THE   WAKE  OF   COLUMBUS. 

therefrom;  but  the  largest  "haul"  of  sunken  silver  was 
made  by  a  man  of  different  pursuits  in  life,  under  the 
very  noses  of  the  buccaneers,  and  at  the  time  they  were 
in  the  heydey  of  their  career.  This  man  was  Sir 
William  Phipps,  the  New  England  baronet,  and  at  one 
time  governor  of  Massachusetts.  He  raised  a  wrecked 
galleon  off  the  coast  of  Haiti,  and  took  from  her  thirty- 
two  tons  of  silver,  and  pearls  and  jewels  to  the  amount 
of  one  million  five  hundred  thousand  dollars. 

But  the  trade  gradually  became  too  precarious  for 
even  the  hardy  settlers  of  Tortuga,  and  at  last  the 
merchant  vessels  were  freed  from  their  depredations, 
except  for  desultory  attacks.  Attracted  by  the  fertile 
fields  of  Haiti,  across  the  channel,  many  of  the  buc- 
caneers turned  planters,  bought  or  stole  slaves  for  the 
cultivation  of  their  estates,  and  settled  down  to  earn 
an  honest  livelihood.  This  departure  may  have  taken 
place  about  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century; 
at  all  events,  the  best  portions  of  the  larger  islands 
were  eventually  appropriated,  and  those  vast  sugar  and 
coffee  estates  were  begun  that  at  one  time  supplied 
France  with  much  that  she  obtained  from  abroad. 

From  men  who  had  trodden  the  quarter-decks  of 
pirate  ships,  and  from  their  descendants,  what  could  be 
expected  but  cruelty  and  oppression  in  their  attitude 
toward  their  slaves  ?  The  French  planters  had  the 
reputation  of  being  more  cruel  than  any  others.  In  the 
year  1768,  it  was  estimated  that  one  hundred  and  four 
thousand  slaves  were  bought  on  the  coast  of  Africa 
—  fifty- three  thousand  by  British  merchants  alone;  the 
consumption  of   negroes  at  that  time  was  some  sixty 


THE  BUCCANEERS  AND  THE  BLACK  KING. 


199 


thousand  annually,  and  the  total  number  up  to  that  time 
brought  into  America  estimated  at  above  nine  million. 
During  the  first  decade  of  the  nineteenth  century,  it  is 
said  that  negroes  were  so  abundant  in  the  West  Indies 
that  slaves  were  "  cheaper  to  buy  than  bread."     It  was 


OLD    BUCCANEER   WATCH-TOWER 


COAST    OF    HAITI. 


in  1789  that  Wilberforce,  in  the  House  of  Commons, 
made  his  famous  plea  for  the  abolition  of  the  slave 
trade;  the  annual  shipment  from  Africa  to  the  West 
Indies,  at  that  time,  being  thirty-eight  thousand,  of 
which  a  great  number  perished  on  the  voyages. 

The  French  colonies  received  their  share  of  the  im- 
ported slaves,  and  it  was  admitted  that  Africans  were 


200  IN   THE   WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

brought  to  the  island  of  Haiti  even  during  the  revolu- 
tion. Regarding  this  great  uprising,  by  which  the 
richest  colonial  possession  of  France  was  completely- 
lost  to  her,  we  have  but  little  space  for  details.  Briefly 
stated  in  the  words  of  another  writer:  "The  summon- 
ing of  the  States-General  in  France  created  much 
enthusiasm  in  Haiti;  but  all  classes  were  disappointed: 
the  planters,  the  low-class  whites,  the  free  blacks,  and 
the  colored;  while  the  slaves,  although  discontented, 
were  only  formidable  from  their  numbers.  The  fire- 
brand that  lit  the  combustibles  was  the  utterance  in  the 
Assembly,  'Perish  the  colonies  rather  than  a  principle,' 
on  the  fifteenth  of  May,  1791.  .  .  .  The  negroes  of 
the  North  rose  in  insurrection,  put  to  death  every  white 
that  fell  into  their  hands,  and  then  rushed  en  masse  to 
pillage  Cape  Haitien ;  but  the  French  troops  drove  them 
back  to  the  mountains." 

The  ferocity  of  the  negro  nature  then  had  full  swing; 
and  all  the  prisoners  were  put  to  death  with  terrible 
tortures.  Several  leaders  assumed  to  command.  Event- 
ually there  rose  to  view  preeminent  among  his  fellows, 
that  Haitian  whom  history  and  poetry  have  made 
known  to  fame  as  Toussaint  L'Ouverture.  He  was  born 
a  slave,  on  an  estate  called  La  Breda,  in  the  north  of 
Haiti,  near  the  city  of  the  Cape.  There  he  remained 
until  above  fifty  years  of  age,  when  the  exigencies  of 
the  revolution  called  him  to  the  front.  Tradition  says 
that  he  was  indirectly  descended  from  an  African 
prince,  but  when  I  made  inquiries  at  the  Cape,  in  1892, 
this  story  was  laughed  at  by  the  Government  repre- 
sentative.     In    1796,   Toussaint   had    gained    complete 


THE   BUCCANEERS    AND   THE   BLACK   KING.  201 

ascendancy  in  the  North,  Cape  Haitien  being  the  capital 
and  center  of  operations,  and  by  the  year  1800  the  whole 
of  Haiti  was  under  him. 

The  island  was  finally  united  and  on  the  road  to 
promised  prosperity,  for  Toussaint's  rule  was  enlight- 
ened and  wise,  and  he  showed  signs  of  being  anxious 
for  the  highest  welfare  of  his  people.  He  prepared  a 
liberal  constitution,  which  he  submitted  to  Bonaparte, 
but  the  latter  unwisely  replied  by  sending  soldiers  in- 
stead of  encouragement,  in  the  person  of  General  Le 
Clerc  with  thirty  thousand  men.  The  French  general 
tried  to  surprise  the  Cape,  but  the  negro  general, 
Christophe,  then  in  command,  set  fire  to  the  city  (apply- 
ing the  torch  first  to  his  own  house)  and  retired  to 
the  mountains.  Toussaint  gave  orders  to  his  other 
generals  to  follow  this  example ;  but  finally,  influenced 
through  the  defection  of  some  of  his  officers,  he  sub- 
mitted to  Le  Clerc;  he  was  later  arrested,  sent  on 
board  a  French  ship,  and  taken  to  France,  dying  a 
captive  in  exile.  Not  long  after,  a  fearful  epidemic  fell 
upon  the  French  soldiers.  What  the  natives  could  not 
accomplish  the  fever  did,  as  it  carried  off  some  forty 
thousand  victims  in  the  two  years  of  1802  and  1803, 
among  them  being  the  commanding  officer  and  twenty 
of  his  generals. 

Freed  from  the  French,  whose  evacuation  of  the 
island  took  place  on  the  twent)7-eighth  of  November, 
1803,  the  Haitians  had  only  themselves  to  contend 
against.  Dessalines  a  negro,  was  chosen  general-in- 
chief,  and  on  the  first  of  January,  1804,  an  Act  of  Inde- 
pendence, signed  by  all  the  generals,  was  promulgated. 


202  IN   THE    WAKE   OF  COLUMBUS. 

In  this  they  swore  to  posterity,  to  the  whole  universe, 
in  fact,  "to  renounce  France  forever,  and  to  die  rather 
than  live  under  her  dominion;  "  an  oath  they  and  their 
descendants  have  nobly  kept. 

Dessalines  was  a  monster  of  cruelty,  whose  name  has 
long  been  held  in  detestation,  and  his  accession  was 
signalized  by  the  massacre  of  all  the  whites  who  had 
hitherto  escaped  the  fury  of  the  blacks.  But  his  reign 
was  short,  as  he  was  killed  by  his  own  troops,  in  1806. 

Two  rival  chiefs  then  fell  to  fighting  for  the  suc- 
cession, and  the  country  was  deluged  with  blood ;  but 
finally,  in  March,  181 1,  an  act  was  passed  establishing 
a  Haitian  royalty,  and  General  Christophe  was  declared 
king,  under  the  title  of  Henry  I. 

Christophe,  the  first  black  king  in  America,  was  a 
negro  from  the  English  island  of  Grenada,  and  spoke 
both  French  and  English,  though  pretending  not  to  un- 
derstand the  latter  when  it  might  serve  his  purpose  to 
remain  in  ignorance. 

The  Haitian  burlesque  of  royalty  was  most  complete, 
and  the  world  has  never  witnessed  a  more  delight- 
ful piece  of  buffoonery  than  the  establishment  of  the 
"royal  court,"  the  elevation  of  ignorant  black  men  to 
the  ranks  of  the  "nobility,"  and  even  the  creation  of 
an  order  of  knighthood.  The  "  Knights  of  St.  Henry" 
have  long  since  disappeared;  the  royal  court  held  its 
last  audience  many  years  ago;  but  the  titles  of  nobility 
(though  conveying  no  meaning)  still  survive;  the  Count 
of  Lemonade,  the  Duke  of  Marmalade,  etc.,  are  fre- 
quently heard  of,  and  an  "  Almanach  Royal  "  was  pub- 
lished so  late  as    1820,  giving  the  list  of   the  nobility, 


THE   BUCCANEERS    AND   THE   BLACK   KING.  203 

the  officers  of  State,  the  privy  council,  and  the  knights 
of  the  order  of  St.  Henry. 

I  myself  recall  a  meeting  with  a  descendant  of  one 
of  these  ci-devant  nobles  on  the  saline  back  of  Cape 
Haitien,  where  I  was  photographing  some  natives.  As 
I  was  picking  my  way  through  the  mud,  two  horsemen 
cantered  by,  one  of  them  in  the  faded  and  tattered  uni- 
form of  an  officer  of  the  guard,  with  a  cocked  hat  on  his 
woolly  head  and  enormous  spurs  on  his  naked  heels. 
Inquiring  the  name  of  this  imposing  individual,  I  was 
informed  that  it  was  no  less  a  personage  than  General 
Limonade,  who  resided  on  the  ancestral  estates  near 
Petit  Anse,  and  who  did  the  best  he  could  to  maintain 
the  prestige  of  his  noble  grandfather.  The  grandilo- 
quent dispatches  of  the  Count  de  Lemonade  are  part 
and  portion  of  Haiti's  history,  and  his  fulsome  eulogies 
of  Saint  Henry  may  be  found  in  a  volume  entitled 
"Relation  des  Glorieux  Evenements "  of  the  great 
king. 

It  was  as  a  despot  that  Christophe  ruled  in  the  North, 
plundering  his  subjects,  who  held  their  lives  at  his  pleas- 
ure, and  building  his  throne  upon  the  murdered  minions 
who  prostrated  themselves  before  him. 

He  was  a  savage,  with  a  desire  for  the  advancement  of 
his  people  to  the  rank  of  those  who  had  long  enjoyed  the 
benefits  of  civilization,  and,  too,  he  tried  to  force  them. 
He  invited  scientific  and  learned  men  from  abroad;  he 
encouraged  commerce  and  protected  foreigners;  he  es- 
tablished schools,  and  promoted  a  feverish  activity  that 
subsided  at  his  death.  But  his  passions,  and  not  his 
intellect,  drove  him   on,  and  if  balked  in    any  of   his 


204  IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

plans  he  wrecked  revenge  upon  the  nearest  victim,  with 
most  ferocious  cruelty.  He  massacred  a  great  number 
of  colored  women,  at  the  Cape,  on  the  strength  of  a 
rumor  that  they  had  prayed  for  his  defeat  in  battle,  and 
no  domestic  circle  was  safe  from  his  invasion.  An 
English  minister,  writing  in  1830,  states  that  he  saw,  at 
the  Cape,  a  ruffian-like  negro  who  atone  time  was  chief 
executioner  to  the  king,  but  was  then  acting  as  a  common 
porter.  He  was  a  savage  of  massive  build,  and  it  was 
told  of  him  that  he  had  acquired  such  dexterity,  from 
long  and  frequent  practice,  that  he  could,  with  his  saber, 
decapitate  a  man  at  one  blow,  without  staining  his  collar 
with  blood. 

The  character  of  Christophe  has  been  accurately 
analyzed  by  Minister  Mackenzie,  who  visited  the  scenes 
of  his  cruelties  and  achievements  only  six  years  after 
Christophe's  death,  and  upon  whom  I  have  relied  for  my 
data  in  this  description.  "As  an  ignorant,  untaught 
man,  he  may  be  considered  one  of  those  phenomena 
that  occasionally  excite  attention,  but  leave  scarcely  any 
beneficial  trace  behind.  He  seems  to  have  had  a  rare 
degree  of  native  acuteness,  activity,  intrepidity,  and  the 
art  of  commanding  the  respect  of  those  around  him. 
These  qualities,  however,  united  with  his  absolute  igno- 
rance, were  disadvantageous,  as,  while  they  made  him 
master  of  one  view  of  a  subject,  he  was  blind  to  every 
other ;  and  thus,  knowing  nothing  of  the  almost  imper- 
ceptible degrees  by  which  alone  civilization  can  be 
rendered  permanent,  he  attempted  to  carry  his  object 
by  storm,  and  succeeded,  until  bodily  infirmity  con- 
vinced his  barbarian  subjects  that  he  was  mortal.     With 


THE  BUCCANEERS  AND  THE  BLACK  KING. 


205 


all  his  strength  of  mind  he  could  not  resist  the  tempta- 
tion of  encouraging  a  belief  that  he  was  protected  by  a 
tutelary  demon,  who  would  have  instantly  avenged  any 
insult  offered  to  him.     It  is  also  said  that  he  had  great 


SANS   SOUCI  —  THE   BLACK    KING'S   PALACE. 

faith  in  the  sorcery  of  Obeah.  With  all  his  atrocities, 
he  was  an  affectionate  father,  and  endeavored  to  place 
his  children  above  him  in  mental  culture. " 

His  efforts  to  improve  the  condition  of  his  subjects 
were  futile,  and  of  his  great  enterprises  not  one  has 
conveyed  a  lasting  benefit.  But  the  black  king  has  left 
behind  him  at  least  two  monuments  to  his  genius  that 
are  unique  and  unapproachable.  These  are  his  royal 
palace  and  his  mighty  castle.      As  has  been  mentioned, 


206 


IN   THE   WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 


he  invited  scientists  and  architects  to  Haiti,  and  the 
structures  erected  during  his  reign  show  that  the  latter 
possessed  talent  of  the  highest  order.  This  is  shown  in 
the  palace  of  Sans  Souci,  and  the  great  fortress  of  La 
Ferriere.  The  palace  was  built  at  the  head  of  a  beauti- 
ful valley,  two  hours'  ride  from  the   Cape;   the  castle 


- 


SANS   SOUCI  —  RUINS   OF    THE    BLACK    KING'S   PALACE. 


was  erected  in  the  mountains  the  same  distance  farther 
on.  I  visited  both,  of  course,  and  was  lost  in  wonder 
and  admiration,  alike  at  the  genius  that  could  conceive, 
and  the  will  that  could  execute  such  stupendous  works. 
It  is  necessary  to  ride  thither  on  horseback ;   but  good 


THE   BUCCANEERS   AND   THE   BLACK  KING.  207 

beasts  are  difficult  to  procure  at  Cape  Haitien,  and  had 
it  not  been  for  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Frank  Dutton,  son 
of  the  agent  of  the  Clyde  steamers  and  a  merchant  of 
repute  at  the  Cape,  I  should  have  had  to  take  the 
journey  on  foot.  Mounted  on  the  gallant  roan  Mr. 
Dutton  had  loaned  me,  and  with  two  intelligent  friends 
acquainted  with  all  the  points  of  interest  along  the  route, 
I  cantered  gayly  over  the  road  to  Millot,  the  town  near- 
est the  palace,  and  reached  it  at  dusk  after  two  hours 
in  the  saddle. 

The  first  view  of  Millot  and  the  palace  is  obtained 
through  an  avenue  of  tall  trees,  nearly  a  mile  in  length, 
its  yellow  walls  shining  over  the  greensward  and  against 
a  furrowed  mass  of  wooded  hills.  It  is  beautiful  be- 
yond description,  and  the  air  of  desolation  hanging 
over  the  scene  enhances  the  soft  beauty  of  the  land- 
scape, giving  the  charm  of  romance  to  one  of  Nature's 
loveliest  creations.  Notice  of  our  arrival  had  been 
sent  ahead,  and  we  were  domiciled  in  the  hut  of  the 
schoolmaster  of  the  village  of  Millot,  which  settlement 
was  once  dependent  upon  the  palace  and  court  for  sub- 
sistence, and  now  lingers  in  the  memory  of  happier 
days  departed.  Our  host  was  a  black  man  of  good 
presence,  who  placed  all  he  had  at  our  disposal,  and 
gave  us  assistance  without  asking  anything  for  his 
trouble.  I  had  been  provided  with  letters  to  the  com- 
mandant of  the  station  here  —  for  without  permission 
from  General  Alexis,  commanding  in  the  North,  no  one 
can  visit  this  spot  —  and  in  the  morning  several  soldiers 
were  placed  at  my  orders,  and  we  explored  the  palace. 
It  is  now  in  ruins,  as  earthquakes  have  rent  its  walls 


208  IN  THE  WAKE  OF   COLUMBUS. 

and  shaken  its  foundations;  but  even  in  its  decay  it 
gives  evidence  of  magnificence  beyond  anything  ever 
attempted  elsewhere  in  the  West  Indies.  In  truth,  it 
may  be  called,  taken  in  connection  with  the  fortress,  the 
wonder  of  the  islands.  Situated  in  a  most  commanding 
position  at  the  base  of  high  hills  covered  with  tropical 
trees,  and  pouring  down  sparkling  streams  of  purest 
water,  with  a  view  of  the  vale  of  Millot  spread  at  its 
feet  like  a  bit  of  earthly  Paradise,  dotted  with  cocoa 
palms,  and  with  the  palm-covered  huts  of  simple  cot- 
tagers peeping  out  here  and  there;  with  a  climate  soft 
and  provocative  of  luxuriant  tropic  growths,  this 
palace  of  Sans  Souci  must  have  offered  a  retreat  from 
the  cares  of  the  world  such  as  few  spots  on  earth  can 
afford. 

As  you  ascend  the  hill,  at  the  left  is  a  circular  ruin, 
once  the  chapel  of  the  king;  beyond  this  along  flight  of 
steps  leads  to  the  esplanade;  above  it  are  the  terraces 
and  the  stairs  leading  to  the  palace  itself.  It  is  roofless, 
with  great  trees  (the  ficus  indica)  growing  out  of  crevices 
and  fringing  the  walls,  while  vines  of  many  kinds  creep 
in  and  out  the  windows  and  doorways.  In  a  court  out- 
side stands  a  great  star-apple-tree,  beneath  which  King 
Henry  held  audience  with  his  officers,  and  behind  the 
palace  are  the  remains  of  extensive  gardens,  irrigated 
with  water  from  the  hills.  There  are  numerous  apart- 
ments in  the  palace,  and  the  room  is  still  shown  (though 
inaccessible  now  from  the  falling  of  the  stairway)  where 
Christophe  killed  himself.  This  event  occurred  in  the 
year  1820,  at  the  news  that  some  of  his  generals  had 
revolted,  and  were  marching  upon  Millot.      The  king 


THE   BUCCANEERS    AND   THE   BLACK   KING.  211 

was  then  suffering  from  partial  paralysis,  but  with  ter- 
rible energy  he  called  for  a  bath  of  stimulating  herbs, 
mounted  his  horse,  and  tried  to  take  the  field.  But  the 
disease  had  too  strong  a  hold  upon  him,  and  he  was 
compelled  to  retire  to  his  room.  There,  realizing  that 
his  end  was  near,  he  shot  himself  with  a  silver  bullet, 
and  in  the  morning  was  found  dead. 

His  remains  were  taken  to  the  castle,  two  hours 
farther  in  the  hills,  and  there  his  tomb  may  be  seen 
to-day,  surrounded  with  high  and  frowning  walls. 

One  bright  morning  we  climbed  the  steep  trail  that 
led  from  the  palace  to  the  castle.  The  trail  so  rough 
that  I  feared  for  the  footing  of  my  brave  steed.  It  led 
along  the  bases  and  brinks  of  precipices,  and  all  the  way 
through  wild  coffee  groves  and  banana  gardens,  with 
such  glorious  views  of  land  and  distant  sea  that  I  was 
filled  with  delight  and  thanksgiving.  At  last  we  reached 
the  fortress,  built  upon  a  high  hill  in  the  bosom  of  the 
mountains,  far  distant  from  all  human  life,  and  so  solitary 
that  it  pained  one  to  contemplate  it.  A  work  that  would 
command  the  attention  and  admiration  of  man  in  any 
country,  that  would  have  taxed  the  genius  and  resources 
of  any  people,  even  with  the  aids  of  modern  civilization 
close  at  hand.  Yet  this  great  fortress  was  built  by  a 
semi-savage;  all  its  material  had  to  be  drawn  from  the 
wild  mountains,  all  its  defensive  equipment  imported 
from  other  lands,  whence,  also,  came  its  architects  and 
its  skilled  workmen. 

An  old  negro  appeared  out  of  the  surrounding  wilds, 
announcing  that  he  held  the  key  of  the  castle;  and 
gradually  a  retinue  of  barbaric  boys  and  savage-looking 


212  IN    THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

men  surrounded  and  followed  us  up  to  the  grim  entrance 
of  the  tower  and  into  the  gloomy  apartments.  A  heavy- 
door  protects  the  only  entrance ;  and  this  once  gained 
you  find  yourself  in  a  dark  keep,  climbing  out  into  a 
covered  way,  and  at  last  crossing  a  deep  fosse  over  a 
narrow  plank  that  now  takes  the  place  of  the  ancient 
drawbridge.  Thence  we  groped  our  way  into  the  low 
galleries  filled  with  cannon  —  long  rows  of  grim  monsters 
of  the  last  century — some  captured  from  the  king  of 
Spain,  some  purchased  from  France,  and  some  of  Eng- 
land. There  were  three  hundred  of  them,  the  guide 
told  me  —  and  I  believe  it,  from  the  number  lying  in  the 
galleries,  and  scattered  about  the  fortress.  And  every 
cannon  was  hauled  up  here  by  toiling,  suffering  men, 
urged  to  incredible  labors  by  the  tyrant's  brutal  over- 
seers. Some  of  these  guns  must  have  weighed  four 
or  five  tons  each,  being  those  old  pieces  as  long  as  a 
Columbiad,  heavy  and  unwieldy.  No  one  knows  to-day 
how  they  were  taken  here,  except  that  it  was  solely  by 
the  unaided  labor  of  men,  and  through  long  years  of  toil. 
My  guide  related  an  instance  of  Christophe's  cruelty 
and  the  torments  he  inflicted  on  his  men.  One  day, 
seeing  a  party  of  some  forty  men  toiling  vainly  at  the 
removal  of  a  heavy  gun  from  low  to  higher  ground, 
he  inquired  the  reason  of  delay.  The  overseer  told 
him  they  could  not  start  the  cannon.  "  Take  away 
twenty  of  those  fools,  and  haul  it  up  with  what  are  left, " 
thundered  the  tyrant ;  and  it  was  done.  It  is  not  strange 
that  the  trail  was  full  of  dead  and  dying  laborers,  and 
that  the  walls  of  La  Ferriere  are  built  upon  the  bones 
of  a  thousand  victims  of  the  cruel  kine. 


THE    BUCCANEERS    AND    THE    BLACK    KING. 


213 


The  castle  walls  tower  above  one,  standing  at  the  en- 
trance, to  a  height  of  nearly  a  hundred  feet;  they  are 
rent  and  toppling  from  earthquake  shocks  but  are  still 
strong  and  massive.  Within  this  vast  fortification  Chris- 
tophe  built  chambers  for  storing  grain,  powder  and  am- 
munition, it   being  his  intention  to  make  this  his  last 


•  m 


- 


OLD   MORTARS    IN    THE    BLACK    KING'S    CASTLE. 


retreat.  For  he  ever  feared  the  return  of  the  French, 
and  it  was  his  intention  to  retire  to  this  fortress,  as  his 
forlorn  hope,  and  here  immure  himself,  in  this  place 
which  Nature  and  man  had  combined  to  make  impreg- 
nable. To  this  end  he  accumulated  here  vast  stores,  and 
I  have  seen  thousands  of  flints  and  balls,  in  the  chamber 
devoted  to  the  ammunition.      It  is  said  that  at  the  time 


214 


IN    THE    WAKE    OF    COLUMBUS. 


of  his  death  he  had  hidden  here  more  than  thirty  mil- 
lions of  dollars.  I  have  penetrated  the  inmost  recesses 
of  the  treasure-vaults,  have  seen  there  several  old  iron 
chests,  clamped  and  bound  about  with  hoops,  their  locks 


BROKEN    ARCH  —  THE    BLACK    KING'S    CASTLE. 


broken  and  their  lids  wrenched  off,  just  as  they  were 
left  by  the  plundering  soldiers  after  the  death  of  the 
tyrant.  We  wandered  about  the  fortress  for  hours, 
coming  upon  some  new  thing  at  every  turn,  and  I  was 
forced  to  render  tribute  to  the  misguided  genius  of  this 
great  and  fierce  nature  warring  with  the  forces  of  his 
environment. 

His  character  is  well  illustrated  in  a  story  the  guide 


THE   BUCCANEERS    AND    THE    BLACK    KING.  215 

told  me  of  the  time  when  Christophe  lived  here.  One 
day  a  fearful  thunder-storm  swept  over  the  fortress. 
The  savage  nature  of  the  king  responded  to  this  war- 
ring, of  the  elements,  and  he  awoke  to  the  implied 
challenge  of  the  bolts  that  struck  his  castle.  "  Aha!  " 
he  cried,  his  eyes  gleaming  and  dilating,  "the  Al- 
mighty thinks  he  can  frighten  Christophe,  does  he? 
Sacrc —  Tonncrre!  we  will  show  him  that  we  can  make 
as  much  noise  as  he  can.  Ho,  there,  gunners!  stand 
by  all  the  guns.  Load  them  to  the  muzzle.  Fire!  all 
at  a  time.  Again,  again,  all !  give  the  Almighty  good 
as  he  sends!  I,  the  king,  will  show  him  what  it  is  to 
thunder!  " 

The  great  guns  roared  their  salutes,  drowning  the  din 
of  the  elements,  filling  the  galleries  with  sulphurous 
smoke,  amidst  which  the  sable  gunners  appeared  like 
demons;  and  the  heart  of  the  savage  was  filled  with  a 
fierce  joy,  having  had  a  tilt  with  forces  elemental,  and 
silencing  with  a  counterblast  the  voice  of  Heaven's 
artillery. 

In  the  center  of  the  fortress  stands  the  tomb  in  which 
were  placed  the  remains  of  Christophe,  in  1820.  But  it 
is  vacant,  having  been  rifled  of  its  contents  by  vandal 
tourists  and  revolutionists.  The  bones  are  said  to  have 
been  large,  and  to  have  belonged  to  a  man  of  immense 
frame.  His  bones  are  scattered  and  no  one  knows  their 
resting-place;  his  works  are  crumbling,  but  still  attest 
the  indomitable  will,  the  striving  after  greatness,  the 
blind  groping  for  power,  of  this  great  savage,  who  has 
the  honor  of  having  been  the  first  black  king  in  America. 
His  castle  is  in  ruins,  his  palace  an  abode  for  owls  and 


216 


IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 


bats,  while  the  people  he  strove  to  elevate  are  as  deep 
as  ever  in  the  mire  of  ignorance,  and  apparently  lapsing 
into  savagism. 

Down  at  Millot  I  found  a  relic  of  his  times,  in  a 
beautiful  bust  of  Melpomene,  stuck  up  in  the  dirt  in 
front  of  the  barracks.  Carved  from  pure  white  marble, 
the  classic  face  and  shapely  shoulders  showing  those 
perfect  curves,  yet  the  Muse  of  Tragedy  was  degraded 
to  this.  I  revenged  this  outrage  to  my  aesthetic  sense, 
by  placing  a  dirty  soldier  on  one  side  of  the  Muse,  and 
another  on  the  other,  and  photographing  them  thus:  a 
type  of  Haiti. 


r. 


Will 


f  pi  111 

m   mm  Ja, 


BEAUTY    ANH    THK    BEASTS  —  K<>rNl>    AT    MILLOT. 


X. 


THE    FIRST    AMERICAN    CHRISTMAS. 

AS  we  have  digressed,  in  the  last  three  chapters, 
from  the  course  pursued  by  Columbus,  we  will 
now  return  to  gather  up  again  the  threads  of  history 
temporarily  dropped.  Taking  his  departure  from  the 
eastern  point  of  Cuba,  at  Cape  Maysi,  the  Admiral 
sailed  easterly  until  he  finally  saw  before  him  the 
towering  mountains  of  a  magnificent  island  which,  while 
yet  more  beautiful  than  Cuba,  was  strikingly  different 
in  the  sweep  of  its  hills  and  the  contours  of  its  shores. 

The  fleet  of  Columbus,  consisting  of  the  Nina,  the 
Pinta  and  the  Santa  Maria,  had  held  together  during 
all  the  tedious  voyaging  across  the  ocean  and  through 
the  Bahamas;  but,  on  the  coast  of  Cuba,  Captain  Pinzon 
had  sailed  off  on  his  own  account,  so  that  but  two 
vessels  and  less  than  one  hundred  men  arrived  off  this 
unknown  island,  on  the  sixth  of  December,  1492. 

The  native  name  was  Bohio,  and  the  Cubans  had 
called  it  Babeque,  describing  it  as  a  region  where 
the  Spaniards  would  obtain  in  abundance  the  precious 
metal  for  which  they  were  continually  inquiring  and 
seeking.     The    Indians    resident   here    called  it  Haiti: 

217 


218 


IN   THE   WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 


"Ai,"high,  "  Ti,"  land,  or  the  Island  of  Mountains, 
and  by  this  native  appellation  the  western  portion  is 
still  known.  To  the  eastern  half  the  aborigines  applied 
the  term  Quisqueya,  or  "Mother  of  the  Earth,"  now 
called  Santo  Domingo. 

The  western  portion  was  also  known  as  Bohio,  the 
"Great   Country,"  the  word  itself    being  still  used  in 


A    RELIGIOUS    PROCESSION   AT    CAPE   HAITIEN. 


the  interior,  to  designate  the  huts  of  straw  or  cane  built 
and  occupied  by  the  poorer  people. 

The  port  of  Bohio  first  entered  by  Columbus,  he 
called  Saint  Nicolas,  in  honor  of  the  saint's  day  on 
which  it  was  discovered.  It  is  the  same  Mole  San 
Nicolas  over  which  the  governments  of  the  United 
vStates  and  Haiti  almost  had  a  quarrel,  a  year  or  two 
ago.     Sending  the  little  Nina  ahead  for  soundings,  the 


THE    FIRST    AMERICAN    CHRISTMAS.  219 

Admiral  followed  in  the  Santa  Maria,  and  dropped 
anchor  in  the  spacious  harbor  to  which  the  smaller  craft 
piloted.  Desirous  to  unfold  the  beauties  of  the  coast 
beyond,  Columbus  and  his  crew  did  not  tarry  long, 
but  sailed  on  again,  a  storm  accelerating-  their  progress 
until  they  found  refuge  under  the  lee  of  Tortuga. 
Beyond,  again,  they  opened  up  a  delightful  valley  with 
a  fine  river  flowing  through  it,  and  withal  so  beautiful 
that  the  Admiral  mamed  it  Val  de  Paraiso,  or  the  Vale 
of  Paradise.  Leaving  its  harbor  at  midnight,  their  next 
anchorage  was  off  a  sandy  beach  near  which  was  a 
large  native  village,  since  known  as  Port  de  Paix. 
Here  the  Spaniards  saw  a  great  many  Indians,  whose 
king,  or  Cacique,  told  them  that  the  Land  of  Gold,  Ba- 
beque,  lay  two  days'  sail  to  the  eastward.  Pursuing  the 
direction  indicated,  they  next  anchored  in  the  great 
bay  of  Acul,  of  which  Columbus  writes  in  his  first  letter : 
"I  have  now  been  at  sea  twenty-three  years,  with 
scarcely  any  intermission,  and  have  seen  the  East  and 
the  West;  but  in  all  those  parts  I  have  never  witnessed 
so  much  of  perfection  in  harbors  as  in  this." 

It  was  in  this  beautiful  bay  that  they  first  heard  of 
the  Indian  king,  Guacanagari,  so  famous  subsequently, 
and  so  unfortunate,  and  who  assisted  them  to  pass  their 
first  Christmas  in  comfort.  Here,  also,  for  the  first 
time  they  heard  of  the  heart  of  the  gold  country  — 
the  Cibao.  This  Columbus,  in  his  eagerness  to  arrive 
at  the  regions  of  the  Grand  Khan,  felt  sure  must  mean 
the  Cipango  described  by  Marco  Polo  in  his  most  won- 
derful book.  Cacique  Guacanagari  cordially  invited  the 
strangers  to  visit  him,  and  accompanied  the   invitation 


220  IN   THE    WAKE    OF   COLUMBUS. 

with  a  rich  present:  a  cotton  girdle,  attached  to  which 
was  a  mask  with  ears,  tongue  and  nose,  all- of  beaten 
gold.     This  golden  present  seemed  such  an  earnest  of 


THE   SANTA    MARIA,    THE    FLAG-SHIP  OF   COLUMBUS. 
C Wrecked  C/iristmus  eve,  1402.) 

the  rich  gold  mines  beyond,  that  Columbus  lost  no  time 
in  following  after  the  returning  messenger,  and  one 
morning  at  sunrise  the  ship  and  the  caravel  spread  their 
sails  to  the  breeze,  and  sailed  again  along  their  eastern 
course.  The  day  was  bright  and  beautiful,  and  nothing 
presaged  the  dire  disaster  that  was  so  soon  to  overtake 
them.     The  breeze  was  lierht  and  baffling,  but  the  sea 


THE   FIRST   AMERICAN   CHRISTMAS.  221 

was  smooth  as  glass,  and  unseen  currents  drifted  them 
along.  For  three  months  the  sailors  had  been  apprehen- 
sive of  accident,  and  on  the  lookout  for  some  calamity ; 
they  had  feared  the  trade-wind  would  always  blow  from 
the  east,  and  that  they  could  never  return  to  Spain ;  that 
if  they  sailed  so  far  down  the  watery  hill  they  could  never 
sail  back  again ;  they  feared  the  serpents  and  the  mer- 
maids, the  submarine  monsters  and  the  terrene  bipeds, 
but  they  never  dreamed,  now  that  their  fears  had  been 
allayed,  that  the  evil  spirits  of  the  sea  were  even  then 
hurrying  their  vessels  to  destruction.  Yet  so  it  was. 
The  two  vessels  drifted  over  the  glassy  sea  till  near 
midnight,  when  the  Admiral,  worn  out  with  constant 
watching,  retired  to  his  cabin  to  sleep.  Following  the 
example  of  their  commander,  although  they  had  been 
cautioned  by  him  to  maintain  a  careful  watch,  the  sea- 
men then  on  deck  also  seized  the  occasion  to  sleep, 
leaving  the  helm  in  the  sole  care  of  a  boy. 

I  always  felt  pity  for  that  boy;  the  only  mention  of 
him  at  all  is  the  brief  statement  that  the  helm  was 
left  in  his  charge.  But,  although  he  goes  unmentioned 
thereafter,  I  am  sure  he  got  kicked  and  cuffed  by  the 
sailors  for  their  own  negligence !  Poor  little  chap !  I 
can  imagine  his  terror  when  the  accident  happens,  and 
his  big  black  eyes  filling  with  tears  at  the  reproaches 
of  the  men.  The  winds  were  light  and  the  sea  was 
calm ;  but  there  was  an  unseen  force  at  work  tugging 
at  the  vessel's  keel,  that  the  mariners  had  not  reokoned 
on;  a  strong  and  treacherous  current  that  forced  the 
Santa  Maria  upon  a  sand-bank,  and  the  first  intimation 
the  boy  at  the  helm  had  of  anything  amiss  was  through 


222  IN    THE   WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

the  beating  of  the  waves  against  the  side  of  the  ship. 
The  rudder  became  immovable,  and  the  young  sailor, 
greatly  alarmed,  cried  out  to  the  men  who,  with  the 
Admiral,  acted  with  great  promptitude,  lightened  the 
vessel,  cut  away  the  masts,  and  carried  an  anchor  out  to 
windward ;  but  all  to  no  avail,  for  the  ship  was  too 
firmly  fixed  in  the  sands. 

She  was  a  total  wreck,  and  the  crew  were  finally 
transferred  to  the  Nina,  which  came  as  near  to  the 
reefs  as  was  deemed  prudent,  and  lay  by  till  morning. 
This,  in  brief,  is  an  account  of  the  first  accident  of 
moment  that  befell  Columbus  on  his  first  voyage  to 
America. 

He  was  then,  as  we  have  seen,  on  his  way  to  visit 
Guacanagari.  When  the  vessel  struck  the  reef,  he  was 
only  four  or  five  miles  away  from  the  Indian  village  of 
Guarico.  Columbus  lost  no  time  in  sending  news  of  the 
disaster  to  the  chieftain  and  imploring  his  assistance, 
which  was  at  once  afforded,  the  Cacique  sending  a  fleet 
of  canoes  to  the  reefs,  in  which  all  the  wreckage  was 
taken  to  the  shore  and  stored  in  huts  assigned  by  Gua- 
canagari for  that  purpose  near  his  own  residence. 

It  was  on  Monday,  the  twenty-fourth  of  December, 
on  the  eve  of  our  Lord's  nativity,  that  the  little  fleet 
sailed  from  the  bay  of  Acul,  arriving  at  the  scene  of 
disaster  about  midnight.  The  first  hours  of  the  morn- 
ing succeeding  were  passed  in  rescuing  the  wreckage, 
and  in  conveying  it  all  to  Guarico.  At  dawn  this  had 
been  accomplished,  and  at  daylight  the  shipwrecked 
mariners  were  sharing  the  hospitality  of  the  noble 
Guacanagari.      Not  a  man  was  injured,  not  an  ounce  of 


THE   FIRST   AMERICAN   CHRISTMAS. 


223 


11. 1. 


\ 


\  ,.\,\fe 


/  r,ii 


THE   WRECKED    CAKAVEL. 


provisions  lost,  not  a  spar  nor  a  nail  detachable  that 
was  not  safely  landed  with  them ;  yet  in  the  words  of 
Robinson  Crusoe,  "what  an  awful  deliverance"  was 
theirs!  The  rising  sun  of  that  Christmas  morning- 
shone  with  tropic  fervor,  the  dewy  thickets  of  precious 


224  IN   THE   WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

woods  exhaled  delicious  odors,  the  birds  caroled  their 
welcomes  to  the  morn ;  yet  these  men  noticed  not  the 
signs  of  awakening  life  around  them,  so  plunged  were 
they  in  deep  despondency. 

And  this  was  Christmas  morning.  This  was  the  first 
recognition  of  the  birth  of  the  Christ-child  in  this  New 
World  then  just  brought  to  light.  And  how  did  they  pass 
the  day?  At  first,  deep  gloom  enwrapped  them  all  — 
these  hundred  men,  two  thousand  miles  from  home,  and 
with  but  one  frail  caravel  to  take  them  back.  But  the 
Cacique  was  unwearied  in  his  attentions ;  his  grief  at  the 
disaster  was  so  manifest,  and  his  attempts  to  divert  them 
from  their  trouble  so  delicately  proffered,  that  finally 
hope  returned  to  cheer  them,  and  they  thought  upon 
their  blessings. 

The  little  Nina  lay  anchored  off  the  village  of  Guarico, 
and  at  sunrise  of  the  day  after  Christmas,  the  Cacique 
paid  a  visit  of  state  to  the  Admiral,  when  Columbus 
was  so  pleased  with  his  frank  and  manly  bearing  that 
he  repeats  his  encomiums,  declaring  him  preeminent  in 
virtue.  While  the  king  was  on  board,  his  Indian  sub- 
jects swarmed  in  canoes  around  the  caravel,  holding  out 
pieces  of  gold,  and  crying  out,  "Chug,  chug!  "  intimat- 
ing that  they  wished  to  barter  the  nuggets  for  hawks- 
bells,  over  which  they  went  wild  with  joy.  Seeing  that 
such  trifles  brought  in  exchange  great  pieces  of  gold, 
Columbus  was  delighted,  and  at  the  sight  of  the  pleas- 
ure expressed  in  his  countenance,  Guacanagari,  quick 
to  note  the  change,  assured  him  that  if  gold  was  the 
object  of  his  desires,  he  would  direct  him  to  a  region 
where  the  very  stones  were  golden,  and  where  it  was  in 


THE    FIRST    AMERICAN    CHRISTMAS.  225 

such  abundance  that  the  people  dwelling  there  held  it 
in  light  esteem.  This  region  he  called  Cibao,  which 
Columbus  construed  to  mean  Cipango,  so  long  the  goal 
before  him  in  his  voyagings.  He  found  it  later,  on  his 
second  voyage,  and  thence  drew  millions  of  treasure. 

After  breakfasting,  the  Cacique  took  the  Admiral 
ashore,  and  spread  a  banquet,  at  which  several  sub- 
chiefs  were  present,  probably  coming  from  the  interior, 
each  one  wearing  a  coronet  of  gold.  Two  of  them 
presented  their  coronets  to  Columbus,  and  confirmed 
the  story  of  the  abundance  of  the  precious  metal  in  the 
mountains  of  the  Cibao. 

Guacanagari  also  wore  a  golden  crown,  but  nothing 
else  save  a  shirt  and  a  pair  of  gloves,  given  him  by  Co- 
lumbus, and  of  which  he  seemed  prouder  than  of  his 
coronet.  The  repast  consisted  of  aj'cs,  or  nutritive  roots, 
shrimp,  and  native  bread  called  cassavi,  which  is  in  use 
there  to-day.  After  it  was  over,  he  rubbed  his  hands 
with  fragrant  herbs  and  washed  them  carefully.  More 
than  a  thousand  Indians  are  said  to  have  been  present, 
and  the  Admiral,  wishing  to  impress  them  with  his 
strength,  sent  for  a  Moorish  bowman,  who  astonished 
the  natives  with  his  skill.  Afterward  a  lombard  was 
fired,  the  report  of  which  so  frightened  the  Indians  that 
they  all  fell  flat  on  the  ground. 

From  the  wreckage  of  the  Santa  Maria,  from  its 
strong  timbers  and  planks,  a  fort  was  constructed  near 
the  village  of  Guarico,  and  in  it  a  garrison  was  left ;  for 
the  remaining  vessel  was  not  large  enough  to  carry  them 
all,  and  many  of  them  desired  to  stay.  Work  on  the 
fort  proceeded  so  rapidly  that  it  was  completed  within 


226  IN    THE    WAKE    OF   COLUMBUS. 

ten  days.  It  was  in  the  form  of  a  tower,  protected 
on  every  side  by  a  broad  and  deep  ditch.  Thus  was 
founded  the  Fortress  of  Navidad,  the  first  structure 
raised  by  Europeans  in  America.  Small  cannon,  called 
lombards,  were  mounted  on  its  walls,  the  garrison  of 
forty  men  were  supplied  with  biscuit  for  a  year,  as  well 
as  wine,  besides  all  the  merchandise  that  remained,  that 
they  might  exchange  it  for  gold.  And  Columbus,  in 
his  letter  apprising  his  sovereigns  of  what  had  been 
done,  wrote  that  he  trusted  in  Providence  that  he  should 
return  here  from  Castile  and  find  at  least  a  ton  of  gold 
collected,  as  well  as  spices  in  great  quantity. 

Then  he  sailed  away,  leaving  here  this  handful  of 
men  in  a  land  of  savages,  not  one  of  whom  would  he 
ever  again  behold  alive. 

Where  did  the  flag-ship  founder,  and  where  was  the 
first  fort  built?  These  have  been  vexed  questions  with 
the  historians,  ever  since  Columbus  became  an  interest- 
ing subject  of  study;  it  was  to  attempt  to  unravel  the 
mystery  surrounding  those  important  events,  that  the 
writer  was  dispatched  to  Haiti,  in  1891  and  1892. 

And  it  was  my  good  fortune  to  unearth  a  chain  of 
evidence  that  brought  to  light  many  important  facts, 
and  placed  in  the  possession  of  our  own  Columbian 
Exposition  an  invaluable  relic  of  the  Santa  ]\Iaria. 

In  brief:  the  reef  on  which  the  flag-ship  grounded 
lies  off  the  city  of  Cape  Haitien,  an  important  port  in 
the  island  of  Haiti ;  a  mile  or  so  distant  is  Point  Picolet, 
called  by  Columbus,  Punta  Santa.  Rounding  Point 
Picolet,  that  memorable  Christmas  Eve,  the  Santa 
Maria  was  forced  by  the  current  upon  the  first  of  a  line 


THE   FIRST    AMERICAN    CHRISTMAS. 


227 


of  reefs  that  stretches  in  front  of  Cape  Haitien,  from 
three  to  five  miles  distant,  and  a  little  farther  from  the 
Indian  village.  This  Indian  settlement  of  Guarico  has 
been  located  at  the  present  bourg  of  Petit  Anse,  two 
miles  from  Cape  Haitien ;  it  is  now  partly  in  ruins,  and 
occupied  by  fisher-folk.     There  is  a  small  chapel  here 


IN    PETIT    ANSE. 


rudely  furnished,  and  a  few  small  huts  and  houses, 
while  beyond  and  around  are  extensive  salines,  or  salt- 
flats,  and  the  coast  in  every  direction  is  low,  and  bor- 
dered with  mangrove  swamps. 

We  know  that  everything  pertaining  to  the  wrecked 
vessel  was  brought  here,  and  that  the  fort  was  built 
near  Guacanagari's village  for  mutual  protection;  hence 
we  must  look  for  its  site  not  far  away.  This  site  I  have 
found  on  the  summit  of  a  small  hill,  called  San  Michel, 


228  IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

isolate  in  the  saline  and  near  the  beach,  with  slopes  so 
nearly  perpendicular  as  to  appear  artificial.  I  found 
no  relic  there;  but  its  position,  so  near  the  ancient 
Guarico,  the  only  elevation  within  two  miles  or  more, 
and  its  strategic  advantages  over  every  other  situation, 
marks  it,  without  much  doubt,  as  the  spot  where  Navidad 
was  founded. 

Passing  over  the  subsequent  events  of  the  first  voyage 
of  Columbus,  let  us  have  recourse  to  the  journal  of  the 
second,  and  learn  at  once  the  fate  of  Navidad.  The 
Nina  had  sailed  for  Spain,  leaving  the  little  garrison 
alone  in  the  fort.  Eleven  months  later  the  Admiral 
returned,  as  he  had  promised  he  would,  with  a  large 
fleet, to  receive  the  ton  or  two  of  gold  he  confidently  ex- 
pected. They  arrived  in  front  of  the  fort,  but  it  was 
night,  and  as  a  vessel  had  been  lost  here  the  year  before 
on  these  same  reefs,  no  communication  was  established 
with  the  shore,  but  the  ships  lay  to  till  morning.  Two 
cannon  were  fired,  but  there  was  no  response  from  the 
shore,  which  lay  enwrapped  in  darkness,  without  sign  of 
light  or  life. 

Great  uneasiness  prevailed  throughout  the  night,  and 
in  the  morning  early  a  boat  was  sent  to  land,  when  the 
fort  was  found  dismantled,  not  one  of  the  garrison  being 
encountered  alive.  It  was  learned  finally  that  a  few  of 
the  garrison  had  died  of  disease,  a  dozen  had  been  killed 
in  an  expedition  into  the  mountain  region,  and  all  the 
rest  had  been  massacred  by  the  fierce  Caonabo,  the  Ca- 
cique of  the  Golden  Mountains,  who  had  secretly  marched 
upon  the  fortress  in  the  night.  He  had  also  killed  many 
of  the  subjects  of  the  friendly  Guacanagari,  who  was 


THE    FIRST    AMERICAN    CHRISTMAS.  2-19 

found  by  the  Spaniards  reclining  in  a  cotton  hammock, 
suffering  from  a  wound  received  in  personal  encounter 
with  Caonabo  himself. 

We  cannot  believe  that  the  Cacique  had  any  part  in 
the  massacre,  except  in  defense  of  the  garrison,  and  even 
the  suspicions  of  Columbus  were  allayed  at  sight  of  his- 
wounds  and  his  tearful  protestations. 

Columbus  had  come  here  with  the  intention  of  estab- 
lishing a  settlement,  but,  although  Guacanagari  would 
have  welcomed  him,  notwithstanding  his  village  had 
been  burned,  and  his  people  ruined  by  the  coming  of  the 
Spaniards,  yet  the  Admiral  was  too  much  oppressed  by 
what  had  occurred  to  entertain  the  thought  of  founding  a 
city  upon  the  ruins  of  Navidad.  The  situation  was  ex- 
cellent, the  scenery  magnificent ;  but  a  pall  of  gloom  now 
overshadowed  this  fair  land,  which  he  had  discovered 
only  a  few  months  previously  rejoicing  in  plenty  and 
peace.  So  he  sent  a  caravel  along  the  coast  to  search 
for  a  site. 

The  founding  of  Navidad  is  the  most  interesting  inci- 
dent of  the  first  voyage  of  Columbus,  after  the  first  dis- 
covery of  land.  Hence,  anything  throwing  light  upon 
that  exciting  episode  should  be  welcomed  by  the  world 
as  an  important  contribution  to  the  stores  of  history. 
Such  contribution  I  have  made,  and  its  authenticity 
established  beyond  a  doubt.  Arrived  at  Haiti,  I  landed 
in  the  port  of  Cape  Haitien,  on  the  northern  coast  of 
the  island.  I  had  an  important  clew  to  a  most  valuable 
"  find,"  and  at  once  sought  out  our  Consul,  who  because 
of  my  official  position  as  Commissioner  of  the  Columbian 
Exposition,  put  me  in  communication  with  the  head  of 


230 


IX    THE    WAKE    OF   COLUMBUS. 


the  Government.  This  gentleman  was  General  Xord 
Alexis.  He  was  the  actual  president  in  the  North,  hav- 
ing rendered  invaluable  aid  to  President  Hyppolite  in 
his  struggle  for  power. 

It  so  happened  that  the  brother-in-law  of  the  general 
owned  the  estate  upon  which  was  the  article  I  sought, 
and  he  took  me  out  to  view  it.  This  relic  was  nothing 
more  nor  less  than  an  anchor  of  the  Santa  Maria.  A 
learned  friend  in  Santo  Domingo  had  told  me  of  it,  and 
I   was  most   anxious  to  obtain  a  view  of  it.  and,  if  it 


SOLDIERS    OF    THE    GUARD    AT    REST. 


proved  a  genuine  relic  of  the  past,  to  purchase  it.  My 
friend  had  investigated  the  subject,  and  had  determined 
that  it  could  be  regarded  as  authentic.  It  is  a  very 
natural  question:  How  can  you  prove  the  genuineness 
of  an  anchor  lost  four  hundred  years  ago,  and  trace  it 
back  to  the  very  ship  from  which  it  was  taken?     This 


THE   FIRST   AMERICAN   CHRISTMAS. 


231 


would  seem  difficult,  on  its  face,  but  if  I  had  the  space 
I  could  give  all  the  links  in  the  chain  of  circumstantial 
evidence  which    leads  directly  back   to   the   time  and 


THE   ANCHOR   OF    COLUMBUS  —  FOUND    AT   PETIT    ANSE. 


scene  of  the  wreck.      However,  I  think  I  can  make  out 
a  case  without  wearying-  my  readers. 

Following  the  main  features  of  the  historical  narra- 
tive, we  recall :  that  the  fortress  was  entirely  destroyed ; 
that  all  the  men  were  killed ;  that  some  of  the  plunder 
was  found  scattered  about  in  the  huts  of  the  natives, 
and  amongst  these  articles  recovered,  ' '  an  anchor  of 
the  caravel  which  had  been  wrecked."  We  know  that 
the  spot  at  which  the  wreckage  was  deposited  was 
Guarico,  now  Petit   Anse;    that    near  this  point  a  fort 


232 


IN   THE    WAKE    OF   COLUMBUS. 


was  built,  and  stocked  with  everything  necessary,  and 
that  on  the  return  of  Columbus  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
year  1493,  everything  was  destroyed  or  dispersed.  Fol- 
lowing out  the  clews  afforded  him  by  unvarying  tradi- 
tions and  the  histori- 
cal evidence,  my  friend 
then  discovered  two  an- 
cient anchors,  one  about 
two,  and  the  other  three 
miles  from  Guarico,and 
bearing  every  evidence 
of  extreme  antiquity. 
Each  is  of  forged  and 
hammered  iron,  about 
nine  feet  in  length, 
and  with  a  great  ring 
over  a  foot  in  diameter. 
Sketches  and  photo- 
graphs have  been  sent  to  Paris  and  Madrid,  and  these 
have  been  pronounced  types  of  the  anchors  in  use  at 
the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century. 

At  the  time  he  re-discovered  these  anchors,  my  friend 
was  living  at  the  Cape,  and  from  the  proprietor  of  the 
estate  on  which  one  of  them  was  found  he  received  it 
as  a  present.  But  he  did  not  take  it  away,  and  when  I 
met  him  in  Santo  Domingo,  he  very  kindly  gave  me 
permission  to  take  it  for  exhibition  at  the  Columbian 
Exposition  at  Chicago. 

Armed,  as  I  have  already  stated,  with  a  letter  of 
introduction  to  the  proprietor,  I  went  in  quest  of  the 
relic.      General  Nord's  brother-in-law  was  also  a  "  sren- 


ST.    JOHN    AND    THE    AGNUS    DEI. 

(Carning  at  Petit  Anse.) 


THE   FIRST   AMERICAN   CHRISTMAS.  233 

eral,"  but,  tinlike  the  legion  of  black  gentlemen  at  the 
Cape  who  bear  this  title  without  a  distinction,  he  had 
seen  actual  service.  Together  we  rode  over  the  salines, 
and  then  through  scattered  gardens  and  the  remains  of 
ruined  estates,  to  the  ruins  of  the  old  "great  house," 
about  three  miles  distant  from  the  city.  The  estate  is 
one  of  the  many  wrecked  plantations  left  abandoned  at 
the  time  of  the  massacre  of  the  French,  a  hundred  years 
ago.  The  general,  my  companion,  is  descended  from 
one  of  the  black  liberators,  to  whom,  as  a  portion  of  his 
share  of  the  spoil,  fell  this  once  beautiful  estate,  now  in 
a  condition  of  abandonment.  We  rode  through  the  re- 
mains of  a  great  avenue  of  tall  trees,  and  hitched  our 
mules  at  the  corner  post  of  a  dilapidated  dwelling. 

A  few  yards  distant  stood  the  anchor,  leaning  against 
the  stone  pillars  of  an  old  well-curb,  across  which  it  had 
once  been  placed  as  an  attachment  for  a  rope  and  pulley. 
A  single  glance  convinced  me  of  its  genuineness,  and 
that,if  not  the  veritable  anchor  of  Columbus,  it  belonged 
to  the  times  in  which  he  lived.  If  it  should  be  asked 
how  came  it  so  far  from  the  shore,  and  a  mile  away 
from  its  conjectural  landing-place,  at  Guariao?  I  should 
say,  first,  that  it  may  have  been  brought  here  for  the 
very  purpose  which  it  so  evidently  served.  Again,  it 
may  have  been  carried  a  distance  inland  by  the  Indians, 
after  the  attack  on  Navidad. 

Either  the  mountain  chieftain,  Caonabo,  undertook  to 
transport  it  to  his  interior  province,  and,  finding  it  a 
burden,  dropped  it  on  the  way,  or  else,  in  their  igno- 
rance, reasoning  blindly  that  the  anchor  was  an  engine 
of  destruction,  or  essential  to  the  working  of  the  caravels 


234 


IN   THE   WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 


on  the  sea,  the  simple  savages  had  intended  removing 
it  as  far  as  possible  from  the  coast.  No  mention  is 
made  of  any  plunder  of  importance  carried  away  by 
Columbus  on  his  second  visit,  and  not  only  the  anchors 
may  have  been  left,  but  also  the  lombards  of  the  fort; 
which,  likewise,  may  have  been  taken  by  the  Indians  to 
a  distance,  or  to  their  strongholds  in  the  mountains. 
But  there  it  was  before  me  at  last,  and  I  lost  no  time  in 
negotiating  for  this  precious  relic,  with  the  result  that 
next  day  it  was  on  board  the  Clyde  steamer,  the  Ozama, 
and  on  its  way  to  Chicago,  via  New  York  and  Washington. 


XI. 


ROUND    ABOUT    ISABELLA. 


*w»-£>ieg<§jl£gu9  5 


I 


THE   OLD    CONVENT. 


?  was  after 
having  com- 
pleted the  for- 
tress of  Navidad 
that  Columbus 
took  his  final  de- 
parture from  the 
coast  of  Haiti,  on  the 
fourth  of  January,  1493. 
Passing  the  reefs  that 
had  wrecked  the  Santa 
Maria,  their  largest  vessel,  the  Spaniards  sailed  toward 
the  east, and  anchored  at  the  base  of  a  high,  tent-shaped 
mountain,  which  Columbus  called  Monte-Cristi,  a  name 
it  bears  to-day. 

About  a  league  distant  from  Monte-Cristi  they  watered 
their  boats  at  a  river,  the  sands  of  which  glistened  with 
particles  of  gold.  Many  of  these  precious  particles 
clung  to  the  hoops  of  the  water-casks,  and,  for  this 
reason,  Columbus  gave  the  stream  the  name  of  Rio  del 
Oro,  or  the  River  of  Gold.      He  did  not,  however,  stop 

235 


236 


IN    THE    WAKE    OF   COLUMBUS. 


to  explore  its  sands,  but  left  that  for  the  garrison  at 
Navidad  to  do,  as  they  were  but  eight  leagues  distant. 
Here,  also,  the  Admiral  saw  those  wonderful  mermaids, 
three  in  number,  standing  high  out  of  the  water,  and 
which  have  since  been  shown  to  be  manatees,  abundant 
in  this  River  Yaqui,  the  name  by  which  the  Rio  del  Ore 
is   known   to-dav.     Columbus  avers  that  he  had  seen 


HUCKSTER'S  SHANTY,  OX  THE  RIVER  TAQUI. 


such  mermaids  before,  in  Guinea  and  on  the  Pepper 
coast;  but  he  says  these  American  mermaids,  though 
they  had  the  faces  of  human  beings,  did  not  appear  so 
handsome  as  represented.  Any  one  who  has  seen  the 
only  American  mermaid  —  the  manatee,  I  mean  —  will 
aofree  with  the  Admiral  that  its  face  is  not  attractive. 


ROUND  ABOUT  ISABELLA.  237 

A  little  more  than  a  year  later,  Columbus  sought  out 
the  source  of  those  golden  sands,  and  I,  who  followed  in 
his  wake  four  hundred  years  after,  have  a  half-ounce  nug- 
get, from  the  head-waters  of  the  River  of  Gold.  I  did  not 
see  the  mermaids  he  describes,  but  I  have  seen  the  great 
gray  sharks  that  infest  the  harbor  of  Monte-Cristi,  the 
shooting  of  which  from  the  steamers'  decks,  is  about 
the  only  diversion  afforded  a  passenger  on  the  coast-line 
vessels. 

It  was  at  Monte-Cristi  that  they  met  with  the  derelict 
Pinta,  their  companion  across  the  Atlantic.  The  Pinta 
had  run  away  from  them  when  off  the  coast  of  Cuba, 
and  had  made  an  independent  voyage  to  the  east- 
ward. Martin  Alonzo  Pinzon  was  her  captain,  and  his 
brother,  Vicente,  was  master  of  the  Nina,  so  that  Colum- 
bus, being  in  a  measure  at  their  mercy,  could  not  repri- 
mand Don  Martin  Alonzo  as  he  wished.  That  he 
nursed  his  wrath,  however,  and  took  revenge  when  once 
back  in  Spain,  is  a  matter  of  history.  But  the  two  little 
vessels  were  now  together  again,  and  they  remained  in 
company  till  a  storm  separated  them  off  the  coast  of  Spain. 

Setting  sail  from  Monte-Cristi  at  midnight,  on  the 
ninth  of  January,  they  cruised  in  company  along  the 
coast  of  what  the  Indians  had  told  them  was  Babeque, 
or  the  Land  of  Gold.  Its  shores,  eastwardly  from  their 
port  of  departure,  were  very  attractive,  and  Columbus 
went  into  raptures  over  "the  country  beyond  them; 
level  and  beautiful,  with  tall  mountains  in  the  interior 
reminding  me  of  the  Sierras  of  Cordova,  and  the  whole 
abounding  in  streams,  and  offering  views  of  such  variety, 
that  the  thousandth  part  cannot  be  described. " 


238  IN   THE    WAKE    OF    COLUMBUS. 

And  in  truth,  as  I  myself  can  testify,  there  was  no 
exaggeration  in  this  enthusiastic  language,  for  the  north 
coast  of  Santo  Domingo  presents  the  grandest  combina- 
tions of  natural  attractions  the  voyager  could  desire. 
The  discoverers  were  then  coasting  off  the  locality  in 
which,  one  year  later,  the  initiatory  attempt  was  made 
at  a  settlement,  and  to  which  Columbus  returned  on  his 
second  voyage. 

Abundance  of  sea-turtle  were  found  along  the  shoals, 
many  of  them  as  "big  as  a  buckler,"  and  the  second 
day  they  sighted  a  most  magnificent  mountain,  with  its 
feet  in  the  sea  and  its  head  in  the  clouds.  This  moun- 
tain Columbus  named  Monte  de  Plata,  or  the  Silver 
Mountain,  because  its  crest  is  usually  cloud-capped  and 
wears  a  silver  turban.  Hence  the  name,  and  that  of  the 
town  subsequently  founded  here,  called  Puerto  Plata, 
to-day  the  most  enterprising  and  the  prettiest  settle- 
ment on  the  coast  of  Santo  Domingo.  An  excellent 
harbor  was  noted  here,  with  a  depth  of  fourteen 
fathoms  at  the  mouth ;  and  with  the  knowledge  of  its 
many  advantages,  it  is  a  matter  of  wonder  that  Colum- 
bus did  not  return  here,  instead  of  passing  it  by  to 
found  the  city  subsequently  started  a  year  later  at 
Isabella. 

Once  having  left  the  coast  of  Santo  Domingo  (or 
Espanola,  as  Columbus  named  it),  the  Spaniards  sail  be- 
yond the  bounds  of  this  volume.  We  know,  however, 
that  the  home-voyage  was  tempestuous ;  that  Columbus 
believing  the  vessels  would  sink,  prepared  a  statement 
of  his  discoveries,  inclosed  it  in  a  cake  of  wax,  and  cast 
it  into  the  sea;  that  they  made  first  land  at  the  Azores, 


ROUND    ABOUT    ISABELLA.  239 

and  were  driven  by  a  storm  to  the  mouth  of  the  Tagus; 
that  they  gave  an  account  of  the  voyage  to  the  king  of 
Portugal,  and  that  the  Nina  finally  anchored  in  the 
harbor  of  Palos,  on  the  fifteenth  of  March,  1493,  after  an 
absence  of  seven  months  and  a  half. 

The  court  was  then  at  Barcelona,  and  going  from 
Palos  to  Seville,  Columbus  made  thence  a  triumphal 
journey  across  the  entire  peninsula  of  Spain.  Of  his 
enthusiastic  reception,  of  the  honors  heaped  upon  him, 
when  he  was  dignified  with  the  title  of  "Don"  and 
confirmed  in  his  claim  to  be  styled  the  "Admiral  of  the 
Ocean  Sea,"  we  can  make  no  mention  here,  merely  not- 
ing that  which  concerns  the  land  we  are  describing. 
But  it  was  at  the  court  at  Barcelona,  as  shown  in 
Balaca's  spirited  painting  which  has  been  selected  as 
the  fitting  frontispiece  for  this  volume,  that  were  first 
displayed  the  Indians,  the  parrots,  the  golden  orna- 
ments, the  rare  plants  supposed  to  possess  medicinal 
virtues,  and  many  another  thing  the  Spanish  sovereigns 
wondered   at  and  admired. 

Soon  after  the  Admiral's  arrival  at  court,  royal  orders 
went  forth  for  the  preparation  of  a  fleet  of  seventeen 
vessels,  to  be  well  manned  with  most  experienced  sea- 
men and  pilots,  and  also  to  carry  miners,  carpenters, 
husbandmen  and  mechanics  —  such  persons,  in  fact,  as 
would  be  of  the  greatest  service  in  colonizing. 

Besides  the  crews  and  mechanics,  great  numbers  of 
adventurers  desired  to  embark,  including  in  their  num- 
ber many  hidalgos  of  high  rank,  lured  by  the  stories  of 
gold  and  silver  to  be  had  for  the  seeking  in  that  far-off 
land. 


240  IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

These  "gentlemen  of  Spain  "  proved  the  most  worth- 
less of  all  recruits  for  colonizing ;  they  mainly  committed 
the  murders ;  they  brought  disaster  to  Columbus.  They 
were  brave;  many  had  fought  in  the  Moorish  wars,  and 
carrying  out  their  schemes  of  plunder  they  carried  fire 
and  the  sword  amongst  a  peaceful  people  who  had  never 
lifted  their  hands  against  another  except  in  self-defense. 
At  last  the  fleet  of  carracks  and  caravels — seventeen 
sail  in  all  —  left  the  harbor  of  Cadiz,  on  the  twenty- 
fifth  of  September,  1493. 

On  the  third  of  November,  land  was  sighted,  in  the 
Caribbees,or  Southern  West  Indies, but  it  was  not  till  the 
twenty-fifth  of  that  month,  after  leisurely  sailing  through 
that  golden  chain  of  islands,  that  Columbus  arrived  at 
the  site  of  Navidad.  As  we  know,  he  found  the  fortress 
destroyed  and  the  garrison  massacred;  and,  whatever 
may  have  been  his  original  intention  as  to  fixing  here 
the  settlement  he  had  been  commissioned  to  found  in 
the  New  World,  the  circumstances  attendant  upon  his 
return  thither  prevented,  if  he  had  ever  contemplated, 
the  consummation  of  such  a  scheme. 

The  aspect  of  brightness  worn  by  the  country  less  than 
a  year  ago,  was  now  changed  to  one  of  gloom.  Confi- 
dence in  the  Indians  was  impaired,  suspicion  and  dis- 
trust had  taken  its  place.  The  occupants  of  the  vessels 
were  anxious  to  disembark,  even  suffering  for  a  change 
of  environment ;  but  no  settlers  could  be  induced  to  fix 
their  abode  here,  with  the  fate  of  their  predecessors 
ever  in  mind. 

The  fleet  weighed  anchor,  and  stood  eastward  from 
Monte-Cristi,  and    Fate,  in   the   shape   of    an   adverse 


ROUND   ABOUT   ISABELLA.  241 

wind,  threw  in  their  way  what  they  had  been  so  anp- 
iously  seeking-  —  a  secure  harbor,  with  an  advantageous 
site  for  settlement.  It  was  not  far  from  a  cape  seen 
and  named  by  Columbus  on  the  previous  voyage,  in 
January. 

Within  a  line  of  frothing  coral  reefs  is  a  deep  basin, 
spacious  enough  for  many  ships  the  size  of  those  in  use 
in  the  time  of  which  we  write,  and  a  great  breastwork 
of  coral  rock,  with  a  beautiful  beach  on  one  side  and  a 
river  on  the  other,  gave  promise  of  an  excellent  site  for 
the  city  that  was  to  be.  The  ships  were  brought  within 
the  line  of  reefs,  and  the  weary  passengers,  together 
with  the  live-stock  and  provisions,  were  landed  on  a 
little  beach. 

It  was  on  the  seventh  of  December,  1493,  that  they 
arrived  here,  and  they  went  to  work  with  such  diligence 
that  soon  houses  were  built,  and  at  least  four  buildings 
erected  of  stone,  the  remains  of  which  have  endured  till 
the  present  time.  Two  months  from  the  day  of  landing, 
a  church  was  dedicated,  and  the  new  city,  which  Colum- 
bus had  named  "  Isabella,"  presented  a  very  creditable 
appearance.  But  it  was  not  long  occupied.  Because  of 
the  insalubrity  of  the  climate  and  the  recklessness  of  the 
settlers,  many  deaths  occurred,  and  in  a  few  years  it  was 
abandoned.  Ever  since,  or  from  the  beginning  of  the 
fifteenth  century,  it  has  lain  in  desolation,  no  one  living 
in  it,  and  as  it  lies  out  of  the  track  of  travel,  its  very 
site  was  forgotten,  and  re-discovered  only  recently.  For 
nearly  four  hundred  years  it  remained  buried  in  ob- 
scurity, and  almost  forgotten  until  the  year  1891,  when 
it  became  my  duty  to  search  it  out. 


242 


IN    THE    WAKE    OF   COLUMBUS. 


The  nearest  port  is  Puerto  Plata,  about  sixty  miles 
away,  and  at  this  place  I  disembarked,  one  day  in  May, 
1 89 1.  Two  days  after  my  arrival,  I  found  a  small  coast- 
ing vessel,  called  Sigoleta,  the  captain  of  which  promised 
to  drop  me  at  Isabella,  as  he  passed  on  his  way  to  the 
mahogany  district.  The  American  Consul  secured  me 
letters  of  introduction  to  residents  in  the  country,  and 


THE   BAJO-BONICO. 

(The  River  on  which  Isabella  was  founded.) 


the  manager  of  an  estate  situated  near  Isabella  gave  me 
orders  on  his  viayor-domo  for  shelter  and  assistance. 

From  Puerto  Plata  down  the  coast  the  scenery  is  ex- 
tremely picturesque;  near  Cape  Isabella  great  gray 
cliffs  of  limestone  stand  boldly  out,  like  battlements  of 


ROUND    ABOUT    ISABELLA.  243 

vast  fortifications,  with  a  sea  of  verdure  behind  and 
crescentic  beaches  of  snow-white  sand  intervening. 
The  ancient  city  itself  was  situated  on  a  plain  which 
terminates  in  a  bluff  of  coral  conglomerate  twenty  to 
thirty  feet  high,  facing  the  west  and  the  ocean.  A  line 
of  foaming  breakers  seems  to  forbid  approach,  but  be- 
yond them  is  a  shallow  harbor,  off  the  mouth  of  a  river 
which  is  known  as  the  Bajo-Bonico. 

The  golcta  was  called  the  Olivia,  a  pretty  name 
for  a  very  filthy  vessel,  and  she  was  manned  by  four 
black  men.  The  blackest  of  whom  was  the  "cap- 
tain." The  heavy  seas  and  the  nauseous  odors  made 
me  very  ill,  and  I  had  to  endure  six  hours  of  condensed 
misery  before  the  breakers  off  Isabella  were  weathered 
and  the  little  harbor  gained.  As  we  anchored  half  a 
mile  from  shore,  the  rain  came  down  in  torrents,  and 
for  an  hour  we  were  huddled  together  in  the  sweltering 
hole  they  called  the  "cabin."  After  awhile  the  rain 
ceased,  my  effects  were  loaded  into  the  small  boat, 
and  we  made  for  the  river.  We  could  see  no  en- 
trance, but  we  finally  ran  the  breakers,  and  after 
bumping  on  the  sands  several  times  were  well  in- 
side. We  then  found  ourselves  in  the  dreariest  river 
I  had  seen  for  many  a  month.  It  was  a  swift-flowing 
stream  of  yellow  water  between  banks  of  mangroves, 
the  only  sign  of  life  some  blue-and-white  herons, 
plovers,  and  black-neck  stilts.  Our  boys  pulled  hard 
against  a  four-mile  current,  and  half  a  mile  up  landed 
us  opposite  a  collection  of  small  houses  on  a  bluff.  We 
were  met  at  the  landing  by  a  young  man  who  had  once 
lived  in  Florida;    and,  though  we  were  in  a  Spanish- 


244 


IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 


speaking  country,  all  the  men  then  in  our  employ  spoke 
English,  the  sailors  having  come  from  Grand  Turk,  in 
the  Bahamas.  The  young  man,  Washington  Banks,  had 
been  recommended  by  our  Consul,  so  he  was  at  once  in- 
stalled as  factotum  and  general  purveyor.  He  took  us 
to  the  house  on  the  bank,  which  we  found  to  be  a  very 


ON    THE    BLl'FF    AT    ISABELLA. 


comfortable  dwelling;  here  we  swung  our  hammocks, 
and  we  were  well  housed  against  the  rain,  which  fell 
the  whole  night  through. 

At  daybreak,  next  morning,  the  mocking-birds  awoke 
us,  and  crawling  out  from  under  our  mosquitcros,  we 
shook  the  fleas  from  our  blankets  and  were  assailed  by 
myriads  of  mosquitoes  and  sand-flies.      At  six  o'clock  or 


ROUND    ABOUT    ISABELLA.  245 

so,  after  the  morning  coffee,  Washington  or  "  Wash,"  as 
he  was  called,  guided  us  along  the  steep  river  bank  and 
through  a  dense  forest  growth  in  the  direction  of  the 
lost  city. 

The  morning  was  cool  and  fresh,  the  bushes  wet  with 
rain,  the  trees  above  filled  with  birds  —  cooing  doves, 
moaning  pigeons,  chattering  parrots,  with  now  and  then 
a  darting  humming-bird,  crossing  our  path  like  a  sun- 
beam. Beyond  the  woods  we  passed  through  a  man- 
grove swamp,  with  the  river  on  one  side  and  steep  coral 
rocks  on  the  other,  reaching  after  that  a  bluff  headland, 
covered  with  densest  vegetation  of  cactus  and  almost 
impenetrable  thickets  of  spiny  plants. 

This  bluff  faces  the  west,  and  is  composed  of  coral 
conglomerate,  evidently  upheaved,  containing  branches 
and  sections  of  coral,  beautiful  in  shape  and  infinite  in 
variety  of  form.  This  is  the  plain  upon  which  unvary- 
ing tradition,  as  well  as  ancient  ruins  and  environment, 
locate  the  city  founded  by  Columbus  and  called  by  him 
Isabella,  after  the  Queen  of  Spain.  It  is  not  large,  con- 
taining perhaps  two  acres.  It  slopes  gradually  upward 
toward  steep  and  densely-wooded  hills,  on  either  side 
a  half-submerged  basin  covered  with  mangroves.  The 
soil,  in  no  places  deep,  becomes  thinner  and  thinner  to- 
ward the  hills,  where  there  is  none  at  all  except  in  holes 
in  the  white  coral  rocks ;  and  yet,  these  rocks  are  covered 
with  a  dense  growth  of  such  hard  woods  as  lignum-vitse, 
and  such  a  mass  of  thorny  bushes  and  vines  as  to  be  well- 
nigh  impenetrable.  The  bluff  faces  the  ocean,  west; 
the  forest-covered  hills  lie  to  the  east,  while  north  and 
south  are  the  mangrove  swamps.     The  northern  one  is 


246  IN   THE    WAKE  OF   COLUMBUS. 

sometimes  filled  with  water  and  looks  like  a  lagoon,  and 
when  the  water  comes  down  from  the  hills,  as  it  does  in 
the  rainy  season,  through  a  picturesque  Canada,  and  as 
it  did  when  Columbus  landed  here,  it  must  appear  like 
the  "  lake,"  as  he  called  it. 

It  was  around  this  lake  that  the  first  settlement  was 
located,  and  directly  in  front  of  it  is  a  beautiful  beach 
of  yellow  sand,  where,  without  doubt,  Columbus  landed, 
as  a  channel  admitting  small  vessels  through  the  reefs 
comes  directly  up  to  the  sands.  This  beach  is  two 
hundred  and  seventy-five  feet  in  length,  with  a  coral 
bluff  at  either  end,  and  a  border  of  sea-grapes  behind 
and  between  it  and  the  mangroves  of  the  lagoon.  Here, 
four  hundred  years  ago,  the  caravels  and  carracks  dis- 
embarked their  living  freight  of  sea-worn  sailors  and 
Spanish  cavaliers,  the  horses  the  cattle  and  the  sheep. 
Here  were  accumulated  the  munitions  of  war,  the  pro- 
visions, plants,  articles  for  trade  and  barter,  and  the 
little  beach  piled  high  with  the  freightage  of  the  ships. 
Even  to-day  the  sands  sometimes  disclose  most  interest- 
ing relics  of  that  far-away  time  when  first  the  products 
of  Europe  were  landed  on  American  soil.  I  have  had 
in  my  hands  a  fragment  of  chain  armor  and  a  stone 
ball,  which  were  found  here,  and  I  possess  pieces  of  the 
tiles  that  covered  the  houses  erected  by  the  Spaniards, 
and  of  the  crucibles  in  which  the  first  gold  was  smelted. 

The  morning  sun  lay  aslant  the  beautiful  beach,  and 
cool  shadows  lurked  in  the  hollows  of  the  rocks,  tempt- 
ing us  to  strip  and  plunge  into  the  limpid  waves  that 
lazily  lapped  the  sands.  "  Wash  "  was  dubious  about 
this  experiment,  because  the  water  inside  the  reefs  is 


ROUND    ABOUT   ISABELLA.  247 

sometimes  alive  with  barracudas,  more  dreaded  by  the 
natives  than  the  sharks;  but  we  paddled  about  in  great 
glee,  and  emerged  refreshed  and  unharmed.  After 
that,  and  during  the  week  that  we  were  there,  a  bath 
on  the  beach  in  the  cool  of  early  morning  was  our  regu- 
lar "refresher. "  I  used  to  take  a  big  stick  in  with  me, 
plant  it  firmly  in  the  sand  beneath  the  water,  and  with 
the  stick  always  within  reach  swim  about  to  my  heart's 
content.  And  so  gentle  was  the  movement  of  the  water 
that  the  stick  would  sometimes  remain  where  I  had 
placed  it  till  our  return,  next  morning.  Many  a  tropic 
bath  have  I  enjoyed,  in  river  and  sea,  but  the  sea-baths 
are  the  best,  and  taken  at  early  morning  are  delightful 
preparatives  for  the  labors  of  the  heated  day.  The 
morning  is  always  cool,  no  matter  what  the  day  may 
be,  and  it  is  a  luxury  merely  to  lie  on  the  beach  listen- 
ing to  the  songs  of  the  birds.  No  less  delightful  was 
the  exhilaration  of  the  plunge,  the  freedom  of  a  vigor- 
ous swim,  and  the  abandonment  of  floating  listlessly  on 
the  breast  of  the  wave,  looking  up  skyward  into  the 
fleecy  clouds. 

Lying  on  my  back,  and  watching  the  clouds  as  they 
floated  over,  I  tried  to  bring  back  those  departed  days 
when  this  solitary  beach  was  populous  with  soldiery, 
and  I  imagined  the  men-at-arms  coming  here  to  bathe. 
The  clang  of  metal  as  they  divested  themselves  of  their 
heavy  armor,  the  sigh  of  relief  as  they  at  last  stood  free 
from  the  galling  steel,  and  the  pleasure  that  possessed 
them  as  their  brawny  arms  parted  the  waves.  Yes; 
even  the  "  Great  Admiral  "  must  have  bathed  here,  and 
have  found  at  least  temporary  relief  from  the  thousand 


248  IN    THE    WAKE    OF    COLUMBUS. 

cares  that  harassed  him,  as  the  waters  closed  around 
him.  His  serious  nature  could  not  find  pleasure  in  the 
bath  as  a  diversion  —  but  history  would  record  fewer 
sins  against  him  to-day,  if  his  taciturnity  had  been  pene- 
trated by  these  simple  delights,  and  he  had  allowed 
himself  to  become  as  a  little  child,  at  one  with  Nature. 
Nature's  children,  the  Indians,  would  have  suffered  less 
at  his  hands,  and  letters  of  gold  might  to-day  record  his 
deeds,  instead  of  letters  of  blood. 

Overlooking  the  beach,  at  its  southern  point,  once 
stood,  according  to  tradition  and  the  evidence  of  visitors 
of  fifty  years  ago,  a  pillar  of  masonry,  or  a  monument, 
which  formed  a  conspicuous  landmark,  visible  some  dis- 
tance at  sea.  Local  tradition  states  that  this  pillar  was 
destroyed  about  fifteen  years  ago,  and  the  marble  tablet 
it  bore  carried  away.  It  is  supposed  that  it  was  erected 
by  Columbus,  to  indicate  the  site  of  the  city  to  passing 
vessels,  and  its  destruction  is  attributed  to  treasure- 
seekers,  who  blew  up  its  foundations  hoping  to  find  it  cov- 
ered hidden  gold.*  It  was  seen  by  Air.  Gibbs,of  Grand 
Turk  Island,  in  the  Bahamas,  who,  some  fifty  years  ago, 
came  here  for  the  purpose  of  comparing  it  with  two 
similar  ones  that  then  existed  in  the  Bahamas,  at  Grand 
Turk  and  at  Sand  Key.  He  thought  that  these  monu- 
ments were  built  to  commemorate  some  great  and 
similar  event,  extrinsically  connected  with  the  places 
themselves.  Be  that  as  it  may,  the  only  indication  of 
the  Isabella  monument  now,  is  a  hollow  in  the  earth  sur- 
rounded by  heaps  of  loose  stones. 

*  Paper  read  before  the  New  York  Historical  Society,  sixth  of  October,  1S46,  by  the 
Hon.  George  Gibbs,  in  support  of  Turk's  Island  as  the  Landfall  of  Columbus. 


ROUND    ABOUT    ISABELLA. 


249 


Fifty  years  ago,  much  of  the  original  city  was  visible, 
and  in  the  midst  of  the  forest  the  traveler  saw  all  the 
remains  of  the  structures  erected  by  Columbus:  the 
pillars  of  the  church;  remains  of  the  king's  storehouse; 
part  of  the  residence  of  Columbus;  the  small  fortress, 
and  a  circular  battlemented  tower.      When  Mr.  Gibbs 


SITE   OF   ISABELLA. 

(The  first  city  of  the  New  World.) 


was  here  he  saw  the  ruins  of  the  church,  fifty  feet  wide 
by  one  hundred  feet  long;  now  nothing  can  be  seen  but 
the  faintest  outline.  Nothing  remains  here  as  a  struct- 
ure, or  of  great  importance  as  a  ruin :  shapeless  heaps, 
only,  or  montoncs,  of  stone  and  brick,  with  here  and 
there  a  hewn   rock,  occasional   shards  of   pottery  and 


250  IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

fragments  of  tiles.  From  the  northern  point  of  the 
bluff,  where  the  pillar  stood,  following  along  the  shore, 
there  is  a  semi-lunar-shaped  heap  of  debris  about  a 
hundred  feet  long.  A  little  farther  on,  at  about  the 
center,  a  quadrilateral  depression  in  the  soil,  where  the 
church  once  stood,  and  near  there  are  some  traces  of  what 
may  have  been  a  fortified  wall,  and  scattered  stones.  At 
the  southern  bluff,  overlooking  the  river,  and  perhaps  five 
hundred  feet  from  the  pillar-site,  is  the  most  conspicuous- 
monton,  or  heap  of  stones,  mixed  together  with  tiles. 
This  is  conjectured  to  have  been  the  "king's  house" 
or  the  smelting  works,  where  the  gold  was  assayed  that 
the  explorers  brought  from  the  mountains.  I  found 
several  hewn  stones  here,  as  well  as  heaps  of  tiles,  and 
what  we  think  were  the  fragments  of  crucibles.  This 
is  the  most  commanding  point  of  the  bluff,  and  it  ap- 
pears possible  that  the  river,  though  now  some  distance 
away,  once  laved  the  base  of  the  cliff.  Not  far  away, 
buried  in  the  woods,  is  another  large  heap  of  stones  and 
bricks  near  a  hole  some  ten  feet  deep.  This  is  sup- 
posed to  have  been  the  powder-magazine,  and  has  often 
been  searched  for  treasure. 

The  week  previous  to  my  visit,  a  party  of  naval  offi- 
cers, from  the  United  States  steamer  Enterprise,  made 
a  hasty  examination  of  the  plateau,  and  their  excellent 
report  substantially  verifies  my  own.  They  concur  with 
me  that  the  place  was  well  intended  for  defense,  locally 
advantageous  as  the  site  for  a  small  settlement,  but  illy- 
adapted  to  the  requirements  of  a  large  and  permanent 
population.  The  entire  plateau  is  now  covered  with 
dense  thickets  of  thorny  and  spiny  plants,  chiefly  cacti, 


ROUND    ABOUT   ISABELLA.  251 

-very  difficult  to  penetrate,  but  presenting  strange  and 
beautiful  shapes,  and  through  them  most  entrancing 
glimpses  of  the  bay,  the  river,  and  the  sea.  It  is  a 
beautiful  site  for  a  camp,  and  notwithstanding  the  dif- 
ficulties of  penetrating  the  undergrowth,  I  wandered 
about  in  great  delight,  visiting  the  bluff  at  sunrise,  at 
sunset,  and  at  heated  noon. 

The  beauty  of  the  place  was  not  the  motive  that  in- 
duced Columbus  to  settle  here,  but  probably  its  con- 
tiguity to  the  gold  region  of  the  Cibao ;  for,  by  passing 
up  the  Bajo  Bonico,  and  then  crossing  the  plain  beyond, 
the  mountain-pass  could  be  reached  that  gave  entrance 
into  this  region.  It  is  difficult  to  account  for  the  total 
disappearance  of  all  the  buildings  in  the  comparatively 
short  space  of  four  hundred  years,  unless  the  stories 
are  true  that  many  of  the  best  buildings  of  Puerto 
Plata  are  built  out  of  the  rocks  taken  from  Isabella. 
Time  alone  would  not  cause  this  marvelously  rapid  dis- 
appearance, and  the  hand  of  the  vandal  has  been  more 
destructive  than  the  tooth  of  time. 

Founded  as  Isabella  was,  in  order  to  give  access  to 
the  interior  mines,  as  soon  as  the  line  of  forts  was  estab- 
lished, in  1494  and  1495,  the  tide  turned  thence,  and 
toward  Santo  Domingo  City  in  1496,  and  it  was  soon 
after  abandoned.  We  know  that  after  the  men  and 
cargoes  were  landed  and  the  settlement  well  begun, 
Columbus  cast  about  for  means  of  communication  with 
the  gold-country,  and  selecting  a  small  body  of  adventu- 
rous men,  he  sent  them  out  to  explore.  They  broke 
through  the  mountain  wall  beyond  the  plain  and  fol- 
lowed an  Indian  trail  through  its  defiles  to  the  beautiful 


252 


IN    THE    WAKE    OF  COLUMBUS. 


valley  beyond.  Before  them  then  lay  the  valley  of  the 
Yaqui,  and  along  its  banks  they  marched  far  into  the 
interior  region  of  the  Cibao,  where  they  discovered  a 
great  deal  of  gold,  in  nuggets  and  grains,  the  sands  of 
the  rivers  glistening  with  it.  This  was  the  first  Span- 
ish expedition  into  the  interior,  and  the  gold  brought 


MAP   OF    ISABELLA. 


out   was   sent   to    Spain   in  the    fleet  that   returned  in 
r   February,  1494. 

It  did  not  take  long  to  ascertain  the  little  that  re- 
mained of  Isabella  —  a  day  or  two  did  that  —  but  the 
remainder  of  a  week  was  consumed  in  proving  what  was 
not  there.  This  is  always  the  task  of  the  explorer.  He 
must  investigate  and  search  out,  not  alone  the  actuali- 
ties, but  the  fallacies  and  distorted  statements.     What 


ROUND   ABOUT   ISABELLA.  253 

I  refer  to  is  this:  there  was  a  tradition  current  that  the 
original  church  built  by  Columbus  was  not  at  the  bluff, 
but  deep  in  the  forest.  Furthermore,  it  was  said  that  it 
remained  even  now,  only  partially  in  ruins  and  retaining 
much  of  its  ornamentation.  This,  of  course,  fired  my 
imagination  and  stimulated  my  desire  for  research,  and 
I  at  once  made  careful  inquiry.  "Wash"  Banks  de- 
clared that  he  himself  had  seen  it;  but  when  I  had  dis- 
patched him  on  an  exploring  expedition  all  by  himself, 
the  result  was  that  there  was  no  result,  though  he 
declared  the  ruins  existed  nine  years  ago,  and  that  he 
believed  they  had  been  removed  bodily,  possibly  by  the 
spirits,  which,  as  everybody  knew,  haunted  the  site 
of  dead  Isabella.  He  then  bethought  himself  of  a 
native  who  had  seen  it  within  a  year,  while  out  in  the 
woods  hunting  wild  hogs.  This  man  was  a  mahogany- 
cutter,  who  was  drifting  some  mahogany  logs  down 
the  river,  and  wouldn't  reach  us  until  the  next  day. 
When  he  arrived,  he  was  not  very  prepossessing;  he 
was  stark  naked  and  the  color  of  the  mahogany  logs  he 
had  brought  along ;  for  he  had  been  two  days  wading 
and  swimming  the  river,  pushing  the  logs  ahead  of  him. 
He  rolled  the  timbers  upon  the  bank  and  left  them 
there,  in  just  the  place  where  another  lot  had  been  left, 
which  had  been  carried  out  to  sea  and  lost,  the  last  time 
the  river  came  down  in  a  freshet. 

This  mahogany-cutter  had  been  working  several  days 
to  earn  a  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents,  which  he  did  not 
get  after  he  had  earned  it.  He  received  only  an  order  on 
a  merchant  at  Puerto  Plata  for  that  amount,  and  for  this 
he  would  have  to  travel  one  hundred  miles.      Even  then, 


254  IN   THE    WAKE  OF   COLUMBUS. 

he  would  find  that  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  cash 
was  a  euphemism  for  "goods,"  to  the  value  of  perhaps 
sixty  cents.  It  was  hard  for  the  poor  fellow;  but  I 
had  little  sympathy  for  him,  because,  when  asked  what 
he  would  take  to  guide  us  to  the  ruins,  he  replied  verv 


THE    CACTUS-COVERED    RUINS    OF    ISABELLA. 

promptly,  "Twenty-five  dollars."  He  claimed  to  pos- 
sess an  exclusive  right  in  the  ruins  and  meant  to  make 
me  pay  for  it;  but  as  I  made  a  point  of  "no  ruins  no 
pay,"  we  did  not  conclude  a  negotiation. 

It  so  happened  that  an  old  woman  in  the  kitchen  had 
overheard  the  man  describe  the  place  to  a  friend,  as  he 
stepped  in  to  light  his  pipe,  and  when  he  had  gone  she 
offered  to  guide  us.      So  one  morning-  we  started  out  — 


ROUND  ABOUT  ISABELLA.  255 

or  at  least  we  essayed  a  start,  for  it  always  takes  these 
people  a  long  while  to  be  about  to  begin.  Arrived  at 
the  bluff,  I  separated  my  party,  placing  them  within 
hail  of  each  other,  and  covering  the  entire  plateau  as 
well  as  the  hillside. 

We  worked  carefully,  traversing  the  woods  in  every 
direction,  but  without  result.  We  crawled  through 
thickets  and  briers,  sweltering  in  the  terrible  heat, 
pestered  with  mosquitoes  and  sand-flies,  but  meeting 
with  no  noxious  insects.  The  bushes  were  thickly 
hung  with  spider-webs,  occupied  by  bad-looking  owners ; 
but  we  did  not  encounter,  fortunately,  the  very  poisonous 
ground  spider,  whose  sting  is  death,  though  it  is  abun- 
dant there.  After  some  hours,  we  all  met,  by  appoint- 
ment, in  the  canada  at  the  head  of  the  lagoon,  and  after 
refreshing  ourselves  started  again,  probing  the  woods 
in  every  direction,  but  without  any  reward. 

The  old  lady  had  worked  as  hard  as  any  of  the  party, 
and  seemed  as  little  fatigued.  They  called  her  La  1  rieja, 
or  the  old  woman.  When  La  J^icja  saw  that  we  had 
exhausted  our  endeavors,  she  came  to  the  rescue  with  a 
proposition  to  invoke  the  powers  that  hide  in  darkness, 
with  which  she  professed  to  be  familiar.  In  order  to 
humor  her,  I  assented,  and  she  led  us  back  to  the  fort 
at  the  bluff,  and  then  to  the  poco,  or  the  well,  in  the 
woods.  Here  she  halted  at  the  foot  of  a  tree.  Pro- 
ducing from  her  ragged  garments  a  candle  made  by  her 
own  hands,  of  the  brown  wax  of  native  bees,  she  lighted 
it,  and  commanded  us  all  to  keep  silence.  Then,  care- 
fully protecting  the  flames  from  the  wind,  she  mumbled 
something  over  it,  watching  anxiously  the  direction  of 


256  IN    THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

the  smoke, and  then  said, pointing  east,  "  Go  there;  that 
way  is  the  capilla."1  So  I  started  my  men  off  east,  La 
Vieja  with  them,  ranging  toward  the  hillside.  But 
they  soon  came  back  exhausted,  every  one,  and  cast 
themselves  down  upon  the  sands  beneath  the  sea-grapes 
where  I  was  awaiting  them.  La  Vieja  was  not  at  all 
downcast  at  the  failure  of  her  incantation,  but  was  ex- 
ceedingly chipper,  and  walked  home  with  us  through 
the  terrible  heat  without  showing  the  least  fatigue. 
And  so  our  hunt  for  the  ruin  ended. 

In  the  Smithsonian  Museum,  at  Washington,  are  two 
idols  of  carved  wood,  from  the  island  of  Santo  Domingo, 
grotesque  in  appearance  and  of  unknown  antiquity.  No 
one  knew  where  they  were  found,  or  their  history,  un- 
til I  stumbled  upon  the  information  here  at  Isabella. 
"  Wash  "  brought  an  old  negro,  with  bushy  brows,  and 
mounted  on  a  jackass  all  too  small,  to  the  door,  one  day, 
and  explained  that  he  was  the  man  who  had  found  them, 
and  that  he  would  conduct  me  to  the  cave  in  which 
they  were  taken.  We  walked  an  hour  through  the 
woods  on  the  hill,  over  the  narrow  trails  made  by 
the  wood-cutters,  to  a  slope  where,  half-hidden  in  the 
thickets,  was  the  yawning  mouth  of  the  cavern. 

Old  "  Coco,"  the  bushy-browed  negro,  showed  me  the 
shelf  of  rock  upon  which  the  idols  were  sitting  when  he 
discovered  them.  He  came  upon  them  suddenly,  as 
he  was  cutting  lignum-vitse,  some  fifteen  years  ago, 
having  had  no  previous  warning  of  the  cave's  existence. 
He  was  so  frightened  that  he  was  completely  paralyzed, 
and  dropped  on  a  rock,  unable  to  move  his  eyes  from 
those  hideous  and  grotesque  beings  which  grinned  at 


ROUND    ABOUT    ISABELLA. 


257 


him  from  the  cave's  mouth.  He,  of  course,  thought 
them  alive;  but  as  they  did  not  offer  to  get  down,  he 
recovered  confidence,  and  advanced  to  examine  them. 
Then  he  saw  their  character,  took  them  down,  and 
carried  them  home  with  him.  Poor  old  idols!  they  had 
been  sitting  there,  proba- 
bly, for  nearly  or  quite  four 
hundred  years,  waiting  pa- 
tiently for  some  enchanter 
to  come  along  and  remove 
the  spell  that  held  them 
there.  They  had  been  placed 
there,  in  all  probability,  by 
the  last  of  the  Indians  who 
once  resided  here,  either  to 
save  them  from  falling  into 
the  hands  of  the  Spaniards, 
or  to  be  worshiped  in  secret, 
guarded  by  their  priests. 
"Coco"  thought  they  were 
there  as  guardians  of  treas- 
ure buried  in  the  cave,  though 
he  found  no  other  articles  at 
the  time  of  the  discovery. 
We  penetrated  the  cavern 
perhaps  sixty  feet,  and  then  could  get  no  farther, 
owing  to  the  masses  of  rock  in  the  way,  probably  dis- 
lodged by  an  earthquake.  No  living  thing  was  observed 
there  except  small  crabs  and  numerous  cockroaches. 

Having   investigated    everything   that  had  been  the 
object  of  the  journey,  after  a  week's  residence  here  I 


COCO'S    IDOL. 

(Now  in  the  Smithsonian  Institution.) 


258  IN   THE   WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

concluded  it  was  time  to  go.  But  I  was  loath  to  leave 
this  pleasant  place,  and  at  night  strolled  up  the  hill  and 
into  the  woods  to  a  point  that  must  have  been  a  favorite 
outlook  with  the  early  settlers  —  those  poor  unfortunates 
who  perished  here  so  far  from  home  and  friends.  Little 
wonder  that  Columbus  was  execrated,  but  great  wonder 
that  he  was  not  killed,  by  these  dupes  of  his  ambition. 
They  died  so  rapidly  that  consternation  seized  them, 
and  sickly  Isabella  was  abandoned  as  soon  as  the  in- 
terior was  opened  to  adventure. 

They  were  fine  hidalgos,  these  victims  of  Isabella, 
whose  ghosts  yet  retain  the  traditions  of  departed  great- 
ness and  high-bred  courtesy,  for  they  yet  haunt  these 
same  woods,  it  is  said,  lingering  in  the  ruins.  They 
can  be  distinguished  from  ordinary  and  common  spirits 
by  their  invariable  politeness  to  a  stranger ;  for  some  of 
them,  it  is  declared,  have  been  encountered  here,  and, 
though  wrapped  in  gloomy  meditation,  they  courteously 
returned  the  salutes,  which  indicates  innate  refinement 
in  ghosts  that  have  been  running  wild  in  the  woods  four 
hundred  years. 

I  waited  late,  hoping  to  get  a  glimpse  of  one,  and 
much  regretted  that  there  was  no  moon ;  but  the  sun 
descended,  the  shadows  grew  to  shades,  and  the  woods 
became  black  long  before  I  left  them ;  and  I  cannot  say 
that  I  saw  an  Isabella  ghost.  The  night  before  our 
departure,  the  horses  were  sent  over  by  Don  Ricardo; 
their  fodder  of  Guinea-grass  was  piled  before  them,  and 
they  themselves  were  tethered  to  the  fence.  There 
they  remained  through  the  night,  and  we  took  an  early 
departure  for  Puerto  Plata  on  the  morrow. 


XII. 


WHERE    THE    FIRST    GOLD    WAS    FOUND. 


I 


"N  what  spot  and  at  what  time  was 

found  the  first  American  gold? 
We   know    that   the    yellow   metal 
was  first  seen  by  Colnmbus  in  posses- 
sion of  the  natives  of  Guanahani,  in 
the  Bahamas,  but  only  rarely  and  in 
minute  particles.     As  the  Spaniards 
progressed  through    the   islands,  and 
reached  the  coast  of  Cuba,  evidences 
of    a    golden    country    to    the    south 
grew    stronger;    but    it  was    not   until    the 
coast  of  Haiti  was  reached  that  indubitable 
proof  was  obtained  that  the  region  of  riches 
was  not  far  away. 

Just  before  the  shipwreck  of  the  Santa 
Maria,  golden  ornaments  were  brought  them  by  the 
uatives,  in  such  quantity  that  even  the  most  skeptical 
were  convinced.  The  Indian  chieftain,  Guacanagari, 
gave  Columbus  some  gold  and  told  him  of  Cibao,  in  the 
mountains,  which  Columbus  was  certain  must  be  the 
Oriental  Cipango,  or  Japan,  so  long  and  vainly  sought. 

259 


260  IN   THE    WAKE    OF   COLUMBUS. 

It  is  to  this  veritable  Cibao,  which  yet  retains  its  In- 
dian name,  the  similarity  of  which  to  Cipango  deceived 
Columbus,  and  which  yet  yields  nuggets  of  purest  gold, 
that  I  shall  conduct  my  readers  in  this  foray  into  fields 
historic.  The  first  voyage  accomplished  and  the  first 
settlement  effected,  Columbus  next  turned  his  attention 
to  the  development  of  the  interior  of  the  island,  and  the 
discovery  of  the  gold  region. 

Isabella,  the  first  city  founded  in  the  New  World,  was 
an  unfortunate  selection  as  the  site  for  a  settlement. 
Its  immediate  environment  of  mangrove  swamps  was 
inimical  to  health ;  its  harbor  was  not  a  secure  one  for 
large  ships;  its  soil  was  scant  and  poor,  and  added  to 
these  it  was  so  crowded  upon  by  the  rocky  hills,  and 
hemmed  in  by  river  and  lagoon,  as  not  to  permit  of  ex- 
pansion. In  fact,  it  was  a  fairly  good  situation  for  a 
camp  or  a  village,  but  not  ample  enough  for  a  city.  It 
had  been  planted  by  Columbus  solely  with  a  view  to  its 
contiguity  to  the  gold  region,  and  unless  gold  in  abun- 
dance could  be  found  in  the  hills  and  mountains  within 
reach  of  the  sea,  the  enemies  of  the  Admiral  could 
prove  that  he  had  committed  a  blunder  in  his  initial 
settlement,  which  would  surely  injure  his  cause  at  the 
court  of  Spain. 

A  preliminary  expedition  had  brought  back  sufficient 
gold  to  warrant  the  belief  that  it  existed  in  quantity,  and 
could  be  found  in  abundance  by  systematic  exploration. 
This  gold  was  sent  home  by  the  return  fleet  to  Spain, 
together  with  a  most  flattering  account  of  the  country. 
Then,  anxious  to  bring  to  light  the  hidden  treasure  in 
the  mountains,  and    at    the    same   time    to   pacify  the 


WHERE   THE    FIRST   GOLD    WAS    FOUND.  261 

haughty  spirits  of  his  insubordinate  cavaliers,  Columbus 
organized  a  second  expedition  into  the  Cibao  region, 
and  assumed  personal  command.  The  previous  one 
had  been  merely  a  reconnoissance ;  this  one  was  to  have 
for  its  object  the  founding  of  a  fort.  It  was  also  in- 
tended that  the  warlike  equipment  and  display  should 
be  such  that  the  Indians  would  be  impressed  with  the 
strength  and  resources  of  the  strangers,  and  perceive 
the  futility  of  subsequent  attack  upon  the  isolated  out- 
post then  projected. 

The  total  population  of  Isabella  at  this  time  was 
about  one  thousand  men,  and  of  this  number  Columbus 
selected  four  hundred  of  the  choicest  spirits  to  accom- 
pany him  on  this  expedition.  They  marched  up  the 
main  river  bank,  rejoicing  to  escape  their  irksome  con- 
finement on  the  plain  between  the  mangrove  swamps. 
Flags  were  flying,  drums  beating,  and  trumpets  send- 
ing forth  their  inspiring  sounds,  while  in  the  semi- 
obscurity  of  the  forest  glittered  helm  and  corselet, lance 
and  arquebuse. 

The  first  day's  march  took  them  across  the  plain  be- 
tween the  sea  and  mountain  range,  at  the  foot  of  which 
the  weary  soldiers  encamped  for  the  night.  Next  day 
they  began  the  ascent  of  the  range;  and  as  the  tortuous 
Indian  trail  would  not  suffice  for  the  passage  of  this  body 
of  men,  with  cavalry  and  munitions  of  war,  it  was  neces- 
sary to  open  a  road.  Then  it  was  that  the  galliard 
young  cavaliers  volunteered  their  services,  burning  with 
an  enthusiasm  hitherto  repressed  amid  the  dismal  sur- 
roundings of  Isabella.  By  their  energy  and  example  a 
road  was  opened  through  the    mountain  gorge.      It  is 


262 


IN   THE   WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 


the  only  trail  to-day  at  this  point,  and  it  still  bears  the 
name  given  to  it  —  El  Puerto  de  los  Caballcros,  the 
"  Hidalgos'  Pass,"  in  token  of  their  achievement. 

Among  the  many  photographs  that  I  have  taken  of. 
the  scenes  identified  with  the  voyages  of   Columbus, 
none  has  the  peculiar  interest  attaching  to  it  possessed 


VIEW    ON    THE    BAJO-BONICo    NEAR   THE  HIDALGOS'    PASS. 


by  one  I  secured  when  at  Isabella  from  the  right  bank 
of  its  river,  the  Bajo-Bonico,  showing  the  trail  of  the 
cavaliers  across  the  plain,  and  the  Monte-Cristi  mount- 
ains with  the  Puerto  de  los  Hidalgos.  The  scene  is 
almost  as  wild  of  aspect  as  at  that  time,  now  four  hun- 
dred years  past,  when  the  forest  stirred  with  martial 
life.      Life  here  is  more  listless  than  at  that  time,  also,. 


WHERE    THE    FIRST    GOLD    WAS    FOUND.  263 

for  the  wheels  of  the  chariot  have  sped  by  it  never  to 
return,  and  the  few  people  here  are  inert  and  dead 
to  passing-  events. 

The  Spaniards  who  marched  through  the  defile 
cleared  by  the  cavaliers,  saw  before  them  the  mag- 
nificent valley  of  the  Yaqui,  where  verdant  plain  and 
luxuriant  forest  alternated,  strung  upon  a  noble  river's 
silver  chain.  They  did  not  know  it  then,  but  it  was  the 
same  river  seen  by  Columbus  just  a  year  before,  in  Jan- 
uary, 1493,  and  named  by  him  the  Rio  del  Oro,  or  the 
River  of  Gold,  from  the  particles  of  gold  that  clung  to 
the  hoops  of  the  water-casks,  and  which  gave  promise 
of  a  rich  country  in  the  interior.  This  hope  they  were 
now  about  to  realize,  and  with  elastic  step  they  marched 
forward,  up  the  valley  and  into  the  mountains. 

For  two  days  they  continued  their  march,  meeting 
everywhere  with  the  most  hospitable  treatment  from 
the  natives,  who  dwelt  here  in  idyllic  ease  and  content- 
ment. The  Indians  were  at  first  afraid  of  the  horses, 
and  of  the  men  clad  in  shining  armor;  but,  when  once 
their  confidence  was  won,  they  were  only  too  anxious  to 
serve  the  invading  strangers,  and  place  before  them  all 
their  little  wealth.  This  was,  in  all  probability,  the 
first  expedition  in  which  horses  were  used  in  the  New 
World.  On  the  evening  of  the  second  day,  the  Span- 
iards came  to  a  different  country,  where  the  mountains 
not  only  reached  down  into  the  valley,  but  rose  before, 
impeding  progress.  Beyond  this  point,  next  day,  the 
army  entered  upon  the  veritable  Cibao  —  the  stony 
region,  rugged  and  mountainous — -the  streams  of  which 
indeed  ran  over  sands  glistening  with  gold. 


264 


IN    THE    WAKE    OF    COLUMBUS. 


Convinced  that  he  was  now  at  the  portal  to  the  hills 
of  gold,  Columbus  concluded  to  penetrate  no  farther, 
but  to  erect  here  a  fortress  to  serve  as  an  outpost,  and 


THE   AMERICAN   FERRY    ACROSS   THE   YAQUI. 


leave  a  garrison  to  guard  this  region,  conjecturally  so 
rich  in  the  precious  ore  and  sands.  He  chose  a  head- 
land, half-surrounded  by  a  crystal  river,  in  the  bed  of 
which  jasper,  porphyry  and  golden  grains  were  found. 
On  this  spot  he  caused  to  be  erected  a  wooden  tower, 
protected  on  the  land  side  by  a  ditch,  and  with  the  clear- 
running  stream  in  front.  This  fortress  was  soon  com- 
pleted, and  as  it  was  built  on  the  bank  of  the  river 
Yanique,  it  was  given  the  name  by  which  it  is  still 
known  —  Santo  Tomas  de  Yanico, 

Fifty  years  ago  the  site  was  seen  by  an  English  gen- 
tleman, who  found  the  ditch  in  good  condition,  as  well 


WHERE    THE    FIRST   GOLD    WAS   FOUND.  267 

as  the  entrance  and  covert  ways  for  descending  to  the 
river.  This  was  the  first  outpost  established  away  from 
the  coast,  and,  if  we  include  Navidad,  the  third  attempt 
at  planting  a  settlement;  it  took  place  about  the  middle 
of  January,  1494.  While  the  fortress  was  being  built, 
active  exploration  of  the  country  adjacent  was  going  on, 
and  glowing  reports  brought  in  of  its  richness.  When 
the  Indians  residing  along  the  banks  of  the  river 
learned  of  the  desire  of  the  strangers  to  obtain  gold, 
they  ran  to  the  streams  and  sifted  the  sands  in  their 
primitive  way,  one  of  them  bringing  a  nugget  of  virgin 
gold  of  an  ounce  in  weight,  and  which  he  gladly  ex- 
changed for  a  paltry  hawk's  bell.  To-day,  as  at  the  time 
of  the  Indians,  the  inhabitants  here  gather  a  golden 
harvest  from  the  streams.  When  they  need  a  little 
money  they  go  to  the  streams  and  wash  it  out  of  the 
sands.  I  secured  for  the  Exposition  one  of  their  prim- 
itive washers,  it  is  merely  a  shallow  dish  whittled  out 
of  a  slab,  but  with  it  the  owner  had  washed  large  sums 
out  of  the  earth  and  sand  of  the  stream  flowing  past  her 
door. 

The  Spaniards  found  much  gold  in  the  sands  and  in 
pockets,  nearly  all  surface  indications,  but  they  never 
touched  the  real  treasure-vault.  That  lies  deep-buried 
in  the  ail-but  inaccessible  hills,  and,  as  the  great  Hum- 
boldt has  declared,  what  the  Spaniards  got  was  the  sur- 
face accumulation  of  centuries,  and  the  first  Europeans 
gathered  it  all  in  a  comparatively  short  time.  But  the 
real  source  of  supply  has  never  been  touched;  and 
whereas  what  has  been  found  is  like  the  scattered 
flakes  of  snow  before  a  storm,  what   remains  may  be 


268 


IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 


compared  to  the  boreal  snow  fields  that  have  never  lost 
their  stores. 

Santo  Tomas  lies  about  six  hours'  distant,  by  horse, 
from  Santiago  de  los  Caballeros,  one  of  the  oldest  towns 
in  the  island.  Santiago  itself  is  difficult  to  reach,  being 
only  accessible  from  the  coast  by  a  trail  horrible  in  its 

pitfalls  and  mud- 
holes,  requiring  a 
day  and  a  night  to 
traverse.  From 
Santiago  my  com- 
panion was  Senor 
Don  Juan  J.  Hun- 
gria,  editor  of  the 
leading  paper  of 
Santiago,  the  Eco 
del  Pueblo,  and  he 
took  along  a  friend 
from  the  country, 
who  rode  the  most 
magnificent  gray 
stallion  I  have  seen  in  the  island.  We  left  Santiago  on 
a  beautiful  day  in  May,  1892,  well-mounted,  and  with 
a  peon  riding  atop  a  small  mountain  of  provender,  car- 
ried by  a  stout  mule.  Riding  down  to  the  river  Yaqui, 
which  is  here  a  broad  and  swift-flowing  stream,  muddy 
and  turbulent,  we  crossed  its  raging  flood  in  a  ferry- 
boat of  unique  construction,  owned  and  operated  by  the 
only  American  in  this  region.  He  had  drifted  here 
in  search  of  gold,  but  had  met  with  the  customary 
fortune    of   gold    seekers   in   general,   and  had   finally 


THEY    BUILT    A    WOODEN    TOWER." 


WHERE   THE  FIRST    GOLD    WAS   FOUND.  269 

settled  down  to  a  legitimate  and  profitable  occupation 
as  ferryman. 

Leaving-  the  river,  and  turning  our  backs  upon  the 

beautiful  city,  we  entered  upon  the  country  trail  with 

good  heart  and  in  high  spirits.     The  scenery  was  grand 

but  solitary,  there  being  but  few  houses  or  huts  along 

:    the  trail,  and  the  woods  were  silent  and  sad. 

After  an  hour  or  so,  we  crossed  a  small  stream,  with 
which  we  were  destined  to  become  well  acquainted 
before  the  journey  was  over,  as  we  crossed  it,  my 
friends  said,  above  one  hundred  times.  It  was  the  same 
stream  the  first  Spaniards  had  found  and  followed  in 
their  search  for  gold,  so  many  years  before,  and  I 
viewed  its  every  feature  with  exceeding  attention.  I 
am  sure  my  readers  will  appreciate  my  interest  in  this 
region,  which  had  such  a  share  in  the  beginnings  of 
American  history,  and  will  understand  my  enthusiasm. 

Climbing  some  steep  hills,  we  finally  sighted  the  little 
hamlet  of  Santo  Tomas,  lying  in  a  hollow.  Arrived 
at  the  fortalcza,  we  at  first  saw  nothing  to  indicate 
ruins,  or  even  remains ;  but  a  peon  living  here  guided 
us  through  the  fields  to  a  bluff  headland,  covered  with 
low  trees,  and  there  we  saw  that  of  which  we  had  come 
in  search  —  the  outlines  of  an  earthwork  and  a  deep 
ditch,  all  that  remained  of  the  fortress  of  Santo  Tomas,, 
.   erected  by  Columbus  four  hundred  years  ago. 

Excavations  were  then  being  made  to  obtain  articles 
for  the  Centenary  at  Madrid,  and  for  our  own  Exposi- 
tion. But  where  was  the  river  — ■  the  Yanico,  with  its 
golden  sands,  which  was  the  reason  for  the  building  of 
the  fort  ?     A  low  murmur  of  running  water  fell  upon 


270 


IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 


our  ears,  and  following  the  sound  we  came  to  that  verit- 
able stream,  deep  hidden  between  steep  banks,  and  purl- 
ing over  rounded  pebbles.  It  was  inclosed  between  walls 
of  rose-apple-trees,  then  in  blossom,  and  was  of  itself 


VIEW   OF    SANTIAGO,    ACROSS   THE    YAQUJ, 


so  attractive  that  it  needed  not  the  tradition  of  gold  to 
enhance  its  attractiveness.  Here  was  the  spot  where 
the  first  military  post  was  established,  away  from  the 
coast,  and  isolated  from  all  human  intercourse.  When 
it  was  completed,  this  fortress  was  placed  in  charge  of 
one  of  the  bravest  soldiers  in  the  service  of  Columbus: 
Pedro  Margarite,  a  noble  Catalonian,  and  Knight  of  the 
Order  of  Santiago,  in  command  of  fifty-six  men. 


WHERE   THE   FIRST   GOLD    WAS   FOUND.  271 

This  done,  Columbus  returned  leisurely  to  Isabella, 
lingering  at  the  Indian  villages  and  cultivating  friendly 
relations  with  the  aborigines.  The  hospitality  of  the 
latter  was  excessive,  and  their  kindness  to  the  strangers 
greatly  in  excess  of  the  deserts  of  these  cruel  invaders, 
who  were  overwhelmed  with  everything  these  simple 
people  possessed.  Leaving  these  happy  dwellers  in 
this  vale  of  indolence  and  plenty,  Columbus  at  last 
withdrew  his  troops  through  the  pass  of  the  Hidalgos. 

But  no  sooner  had  Columbus  reached  Isabella,  than  a 
messenger  from  Margarite  was  at  his  heels,  with  the 
startling  news  that  the  Indians  were  manifesting  un- 
friendly feelings  and  withdrawing  from  the  vicinity  of 
the  fort.  The  fate  of  Navidad,  it  seems,  whose  garrison 
was  massacred  the  year  previous,  by  Caonabo,  must 
have  been  forgotten,  for  the  soldiers  of  Santo  Tomas 
gave  themselves  over  to  the  same  passions  that  wrought 
the  destruction  of  their  compatriots.  Columbus  sent 
back  a  re-enforcement  of  fifty  men,  and  this  served  tem- 
porarily to  check  the  advance  of  the  mountain  Indians 
under  Caonabo;  but  the  fire  kindled  by  Spanish  atro- 
cities was  smoldering,  and  the  fierce  cacique  was  mass- 
ing his  warriors  for  a  descent  upon  the  fort.  He  had 
preserved  an  ominous  silence  since  the  massacre  at 
Navidad,  even  holding  aloof  when  his  territory  was 
invaded;  but  the  Spaniards  were  to  hear  from  him  — 
they  were  to  learn  that  not  all  the  caciques  were  like 
Guacanagari,  and  that  one  at  least  had  the  spirit  to 
resent  their  dastardly  affronts. 

In  order  to  relieve  the  congested  condition  of  Isa- 
bella, and  give  scope  for  the  enterprise  of  his  chafing 


272  IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

cavaliers,  Columbus  decided  to  dispose  the  bulk  of  his 
troops  in  the  interior,  where  they  could  obtain  needed 
exercise,  live  on  the  country  without  charge,  and  make  a 
protracted  search  for  gold.  He  sent  Alonzo  de  Ojeda 
to  relieve  Margarite  at  Santo  Tomas,  and  the  latter  took 
charge  of  the  main  army  of  some  five  hundred  men 
and  explored  the  Cibao.  Having  thus  dispatched  the 
main  body  of  the  army  into  the  interior,  Columbus 
placed  the  affairs  of  Isabella  in  the  hands  of  a  junta, 
presided  over  by  his  brother,  Don  Diego  Columbus,  and 
set  out  upon  another  voyage  of  discovery  along  the  south 
coast  of  Cuba. 

Before  his  return  great  changes  were  wrought  in  the 
condition  of  affairs;  the  storm  burst  upon  the  garrison 
of  Santo  Tomas,  and  the  commander  was  kept  penned 
within  the  fort  a  long  while  before  he  could  sally  out 
and  disperse  the  Indians. 

This  denuded  piece  of  ground,  surrounded  now  with 
the  forest,  and  without  a  trace  of  the  structure  erected 
here  by  the  Spaniards,  is  all  there  is  to  remind  us  of 
those  stirring  times  and  those  valorous  deeds.  It  was 
a  place  to  dream  in  a  while ;  but  we  had  no  time  to  lose, 
and  after  photographing  the  salient  features  of  fort  and 
river,  and  obtaining  from  the  family  residing  here  some 
relics  of  the  Indian  times,  we  set  out  to  depart. 

We  were  among  the  pines,  and  in  fact  Santo  Tomas 
is  in  the  region  of  pines,  where  the  air  is  delicious  and 
pure.  We  rode  over  the  hills  and  through  deep  gulches 
till  it  became  so  dark  that  we  could  not  see  before  us; 
then  appeared  signs  of  the  village  of  San  Jose  de  las 
Matas. 


WHERE   THE    FIRST   GOLD    WAS    FOUND. 


273 


No  one  expected  us  there,  for  visitors  rarely  troubled 
the  place,  but  Don  Juan  knew  the  parish  priest  and  felt 
sure  of  a  welcome.  A  welcome  we  did  get  and  a  hearty 
one ;  but  the  poor  padre  had  neither  provender  for  us 
nor  the  wherewithal  to  buy  it.     We  were  dripping-  with 


THE    SITE   OF   THE    TOWER   OF    SANTO    TOMAS. 


water,  for  it  had  rained  upon  us  as  the  village  was 
reached,  and  our  poor  beasts  were  shivering  with  cold. 
Shelter  was  at  once  forthcoming,  and  some  of  the  peo- 
ple were  aroused  to  open  the  only  shop,  where  I  bought 
some  eggs,  ham  and  drinkables,  returning  with  them  to 
the  priest's  house,  where  we  soon  feasted  merrily. 

The  padre  was  thin  and  emaciated,  but  though  an 
ascetic  he  was  hearty  withal,  and  loved  good  cheer  with 


274  IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

the  rest  of  us.  He  had  a  little  garden  behind  his  house 
with  a  papaw  in  it,  some  sparse  shrubbery,  and  various 
things  that  indicated  a  liking  for  the  grotesque  —  such  as 
a  little  man  of  bronze  perched  on  a  pillar,  and  weather- 
vanes  of  queer  shapes.  He  gave  us  hammocks  to  sleep 
in,  and  in  the  morning  took  me  to  the  church  and  the 
goldsmith's  shop,  where  I  found  specimens  of  gold  from 
the  nearest  rivers.  The  goldsmith  lived  in  a  hut  with 
a  mud  floor  and  a  roof  of  thatch,  his  shop  being  merely 
a  corner  with  a  bench  in  it. 

His  instruments  and  tools  were  of  the  simplest  kind, 
and  to  try  the  gold  that  was  brought  him  he  rubbed  it 
upon  a  curious  black  stone;  this  I  found  to  be  an  In- 
dian celt,  and  after  much  bargaining  bought  it  of  him. 
This  celt  is  beautifully  polished  and  of  perfect  shape, 
of  a  dark-green  color,  and  may  have  been  used  by  the 
Indians  as  a  chisel  or  knife. 

I  bought  also  some  dust  and  flakes  of  gold,  which  I 
still  have,  and  some  more  gold-dust  of  the  neighbors. 
For  this  is  the  center  of  the  operations  carried  on  by 
the  first  gold-seekers  after  Santo  Tomas  was  founded. 
But  still,  although  gold  has  been  found  here  for  so  long 
a  time,  and  is  still  found,  all  the  dwellers  here  are  very 
poor.  They  are  extremely  lazy  and  improvident;  and 
when  they  need  anything  they  merely  run  over  to  one 
of  the  streams  and  wash  out  enough  gold  to  last  them 
a  while,  and  then  live  on  it  so  long  as  it  will  last,  repeat- 
ing this  operation  next  time  their  necessities  get  oppres- 
sive. Thus  they  live,  from  hand  to  mouth,  and  so  their 
ancestors  lived  before  them. 

In  the  church  the  padre  had  a  small  bell  which,  he 


WHERE    THE    FIRST    GOLD    WAS    FOUND. 


1^0 


told  me,  had  been  taken  out  of  the  ruins  of  the  first  city 
founded  in  this  region  —  the  old  Jacagua,  near  Santiago. 
He  offered  it  to  me,  and  I  accepted  it  for  the  Exposi- 
tion, promising  in  exchange  a  new  one.  I  had  done  the 
same  for  the  church  of  Santo  Cerro,  not  far  away,  the 
year  before,  and  even  then  they  were  calling  the  people 


i 


m 


. 


■*>v,     h 


% 


i  e      i 

- 


<®VT? 


THE    BED   OF   THE    EIVER   YAXICO. 

("  The  River  of  the  Golden  Sands.") 

to  worship  with  the  bell  I  had  sent  them.  The  church 
at  San  Jose  is  very  old  and  massive,  and  has  stood  at 
least  three  hundred  years. 

After  the  padre  had  performed  the  functions  at  morn- 
ing mass,  he  went  with  us  about  the  town,  and  when  we 


276  IN   THE    WAKE    OF  COLUMBUS. 

left  accompanied  us  a  good  bit  on  our  journey.  The 
ride  back  was  delightful,  most  of  the  way  through 
forests  of  tropical  trees,  in  the  branches  of  which  the 
pigeons  and  doves  cooed  contentedly,  and  parrots  innu- 
merable chattered  noisily.  We  were  loaded  down  with 
our  plunderings,  and  our  little  mule  groaned  desper- 
ately at  the  load  the  peon  put  upon  her,  for  the  bell 
the  padre  had  given  us  weighed  well,  and  there  were 
cutlasses  and  swords  of  the  time  of  the  couqiiistadores, 
pottery,  iron  spurs,  and  similar  "finds'*  of  times  most 
ancient. 

Through  the  fragrant  woods,  that  were  as  dense,  as 
delicious,  and  as  new  as  at  the  time  Columbus  saw 
them,  we  rode  happily,  the  hoof-beats  of  our  horses 
beating  rhythmic  time  upon  the  stony  ground,  and  the 
bell  of  the  padre  ever  and  anon  sending  its  metallic 
note  out  into  the  woods  that  it  had  traversed  centuries 
before. 

And  should  you  come  across  an  ancient  bell  from  Santo 
Domingo,  at  our  great  Exposition,  labeled  from  '  Jaca- 
gua,  Ancient  Santiago, "  you  will  know  that  is  our  old 
relic  of  the  woods  of  Santo  Tomas,  and  is  the  same  one 
that,  probably,  called  religious  men  together  years  and 
years  before  our  country  had  a  name. 


XIII. 

THE    PORT    OF    THE    SILVER    MOUNTAIN. 

A  DIFFERENT  coast  character  greeted  me  as  I  went 
on  deck  the  morning  after  leaving  Cape  Haitien. 
It  was  more  open  and  less  gloomy,  yet  not  so  rankly  lux- 
uriant. This,  too,  is  the  difference  between  the  people 
of  the  respective  republics  of  Haiti  and  Santo  Domingo: 
in  the  one  they  are  lapsing  into  the  tropical  savagery  of 
their  own  rank  forests;  in  the  other,  while  yet  buried  in 
the  gloom  of  their  sad  heritage  of  woe,  they  are  still 
struggling  toward  the  light.  They  are  open  and  frank, 
yet  suspicious  of  the  motives  of  strangers;  but,  at  least 
on  the  surface,  are  hospitably  inclined  and  disposed  to 
grant  to  every  one  his  face  value. 

The  town  of  Puerto  Plata,  lying  at  the  foot  of  its 
silver-capped  mountain,  is  brighter,  more  cleanly,  and 
in  general  appearance  more  progressive,  than  the  coast 
towns  of  Haiti,  about  which  hangs  ever  an  air  of  deso- 
lation and  decay.  This  town  has  the  most  attractive 
situation  of  any  I  have  seen  in  Santo  Domingo,  with 
its  small,  land-locked  bay,  its  green  slopes  covered  with 
tropical  gardens,  and  the  adjacent  valleys  filled  with 
sugar-cane.      The  most   conspicuous   object  is  the  old 

277 


278  IN    THE    WAKE    OF    COLUMBUS. 

fort  on  the  point  that  makes  the  harbor.  Two  or  three 
great  guns  are  mounted  here;  and  they  point  toward 
the  town  —  not  out  at  sea  —  as  the  island's  only  enemies 
are  of  her  own  people. 

The  customs  officials  who  came  off  to  meet  us,  seemed 
to  partake  of  the  general  neatness  and  thrift,  for  they 
were  well-dressed,  courteous  and  alert.  With  an  air  of 
honesty  and  good  intent,  the  boatman  with  whom  I  bar- 
gained for  passage  to  the  shore,  "took  me  in  and  did 
forme,"  and  caused  the  milk  of  human  kindness  that 
had  surged  around  my  heart,  to  curdle  at  his  perfidy. 

After  many  encounters  with  boatmen  and  hackmen 
the  world  over,  this  is  my  advice:  treat  with  them  as  if 
arranging  terms  with  an  enemy;  stand  up  squarely  and 
tell  them  that  you  know  their  rates  are  exorbitant,  no 
matter  what  their  rates  may  be,  and  do  not  relax  your 
rigidity  till  well  out  of  their  reach.  If  you  meet  them 
afterward,  give  them  whatever  you  like,  but  purely  as  a 
gratuity;  then  they  will  respect  you  as  a  man  of  sense, 
for  the  grit  that  is  in  you,  and  not  for  your  money. 

But  I  was  taken  at  a  disadvantage.  My  feeling  of 
gratitude  at  my  escape  from  Haiti,  and  the  softening  in- 
fluences of  the  beautiful  landscape,  rendered  me  an 
easy  victim  to  the  wiles  of  the  boatman.  I  made  what  I 
thought  was  a  very  good  bargain  for  the  transportation 
of  myself  and  effects  to  the  shore;  but  I  paid  the  ras- 
cal in  advance,  and  there  is  where  the  trouble  came  in. 
Under  the  plea  that  the  boat  was  overloaded,  he  pushed 
off  with  my  luggage,  promising  to  return  shortly  for 
me.  When  he  got  about  half-way  to  shore,  I  saw,  to 
my  horror,  an  ox-cart  draw  up  alongside  the  boat,  and 


THE    PORT    OF   THE    SILVER    MOUNTAIN. 


279 


all  my  effects  transferred  to  the  hands  of  a  stranger 
whom  I  had  never  seen,  and  might  never  see  again. 
Then  I  knew  I  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Philistines,  for 
I  had  not  even  the  semblance  of  a  "  capitulation  "  with 
that  ox-cart  man,  and  he  had  my  goods. 

Of  what  avail  to  stamp  upon  the  deck;  to  vow  that 
you  would  have  the  life  and  blood  of  that  boatman,  that 


LOADINU    A    BULL    CART. 


you  would  not  have  your  luggage  go  by  that  route ;  and 
that  the  authorities  should  hear  of  this  outrage,  when 
the  man  was  out  of  ear-shot,  and  the  luggage  already 
in  possession  of  a  villain  with  murderous  visage  and  a 
knife  in  his  belt?  What,  indeed?  It  seemed  a  long 
half-hour  before  the  pirate  returned,  but  when  he  did. 


280  IN    THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

he  had  the  most  energetic  Castilian  that  my  acquaint- 
ance with  the  Spanish  language  permitted  me  to  express. 
It  did  not  matter,  as  I  knew  it  would  not;  but  I  had  the 
happiness  of  restoring,  in  a  measure,  my  outraged  equi- 
librium, and  of  causing  a  temporary  flutter  in  the  morn- 
ing calm.  And  the  worst  of  it  was  that,  as  I  was  rowed 
ashore,  I  met  the  consular  barge,  pulled  by  six  oars  and 
with  the  American  flag  at  the  stern,  coming  out  to  con- 
vey me  to  the  shore.  It  all  came  of  arriving  too  early 
in  the  morning,  for  if  it  had  been  later,  the  Consul 
would  have  been  on  hand  to  receive  me. 

Arrived  at  the  customs,  I  found  the  grinning  villain 
of  the  ox-cart  awaiting  me  —  for  all  luggage  must  be 
examined  before  entry  —  and  I  then  expected  another 
"  row  "  with  these  officials.  But,  whatever  the  charac- 
ter of  the  boatmen,  I  knew  the  officials  were  gentlemen 
—  and  there  was  no  trouble  about  the  effects. 

In  truth,  I  have  never  allowed  the  customs  officials  of 
any  island  to  examine  my  luggage,  for,  traveling  as  the 
accredited  representative  of  my  Government,  I  always 
held  it  to  be  an  insult  to  that  Government  to  permit  the 
effects  of  its  agent  to  be  disturbed.  If  I  were  not  worthy 
of  trust,  I  should  not  have  held  the  position;  holding 
that  position,  I  merely  demanded  the  recognition  due 
me,  not  as  an  individual,  but  as  the  representative  of  a 
powerful  and  friendly  government.  To  their  credit  be 
it  said,  the  insular  customs  always  recognized  the  jus- 
tice of  my  position,  and  I  am  sure  were  only  too  glad  to 
extend  a  courtesy  that  cost  them  nothing. 

The  cartman  did  not  wait  to  hear  my  opinion  on  dip- 
lomatic amenities,  but  hastened  off.  and  was  out  of  sight 


THE    PORT   OF   THE   SILVER    MOUNTAIN.  281 

before  the  officials  and  myself  had  half-performed  the 
ceremony  of  assuring  each  other  of  the  love  borne  and 
the  respect  entertained  for  our  mutual  and  respective 
governments.  After  that,  a  cigarette  or  two,  a  for- 
mal and  then  an  effusive  shaking  of  hands,  a  ceremoni- 
ous lifting  of  hats,  a  parting  salutation  and  renewed 
expressions  of  mutual  good-will,  esteem,  admiration 
even,  and  I  tore  myself  away,  followed  by  the  adieus  of 
my  new  friends. 

And  I  found  the  cartman  awaiting  my  coming.  He 
had  stowed  away  the  trunks  in  a  room  assigned  me  at 
the  hotel,  and  was  only  waiting  to  present  his  little  bill, 
that  was  all !  It  was  not  the  bill  that  concerned  me;  it 
was  the  attitude  of  the  man  —  his  evident  intention  to 
take  me  by  the  throat  and  cram  that  bill  into  my  system. 
So,  with  inward  trepidation,  though  I  flatter  myself  out- 
wardly calm,  I  demanded  his  price. 

"  Four  dollars." 

"  Cuanto  ?  "  I  thundered. 

Firmly,  but  respectfully,  the  man  replied,  "  Cuatro." 

I  drew  forth  two  dollars  and  extended  it  to  him.  He 
spurned  it  with  a  glance  of  scorn  that  I  couldn't  have 
duplicated  for  the  life  of  me.  He  also  toyed  quietly 
with  the  huge  knife  and  revolver  in  his  belt.  Then, 
though,  I  will  confess,  with  a  creeping  sensation  along 
my  spine,  I  turned  my  back  upon  him,  and  shut  the  door 
in  his  face.  I  busied  myself  with  opening  my  trunks, 
at  the  same  time  wondering  at  which  point  the  door 
would  be  perforated  by  the  bad  man's  bullets.  A  little 
later,  hearing  the  ox-cart  move  off,  I  peeped  out  and 
saw  him  going  away.     But  he  came  back,  and  he  kept 


282  IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

coming,  during  two   days.     Our  conversation  at   these 
interviews  consisted  of : 

"  Cuantof" 

"  Cuatro pesos." 

"  And  you  won't  take  two?  " 

"  Sehor,  I'll  perish  first." 

"  Then  perish. " 

Exit  cartman.  I  might  have  complained  to  the 
police  and  had  him  arrested;  but  the  farce  was  rather 
amusing,  and  I  liked  to  keep  it  up. 

Finally,  he  came  up  with  a  broad  grin  on  his  dirty 
face,  and  said  he  would  take  two  dollars.  And  as  soon 
as  it  was  safely  in  his  possession,  he  asked  me  humbly 
if  I  would  give  him  one  dollar  (the  regular  price,  by  the 
way),  to  take  the  same  things  back  to  the  boat.  His 
change  of  demeanor  had  been  brought  about  by  a  lecture 
he  and  his  confreres  had  received  from  the  alcalde,  who, 
hearing  of  the  affair,  had  assembled  them  all,  and  as- 
sured them  that  at  the  first  intimation  of  another  attempt 
at  fraud,  he  would  revoke  their  licenses,  and  send  the 
whole  lot  to  the  calaboose. 

The  Hotel  Cibao  is  the  best  in  the  place,  and  the 
landlady  made  me  as  comfortable  as  possible,  though 
the  mosquitoes  of  Puerto  Plata  are  the  most  active  and 
utterly  depraved  of  any  I  have  ever  encountered.  The 
servants  at  the  "Cibao"  smoked  at  all  times,  even 
while  waiting  on  the  table  and  making  up  the  beds. 
And  they  smoked  such  rank,  evil-looking  and  foul- 
smelling  cigars  that  my  feelings  almost  overcome  me 
at  the  reminiscence. 

Although    depraved   in    their   tastes,  yet   they  were 


THE    PORT    OF    THE    SILVER    MOUNTAIN.  283 

assiduous  in  their  efforts  to  please,  while  our  talented 
landlady  could  converse  in  any  one  of  the  four  leading- 
languages  of  the  world,  or  all  at  once  —  depending  upon 
whether  she  was  discoursing  with  a  boarder,  or  rating 
a  servant  for  disobedience  to  orders. 

I  found  that  the  generally  bright  and  active  appear- 
ance of  the  town  was  due  to  the  residence  here  of  some 
very  intelligent  foreigners,  mainly  Americans,  who  had 
initiated  enterprises  of  public  benefit  and  utility.  I  met 
the  best  of  these,  and  they  exerted  themselves  to  for- 
ward the  aims  of  my  mission,  and  make  my  stay  so- 
cially agreeable.  Our  Consul,  an  American  long  resident 
here,  introduced  me  at  the  Club  del  Comcrcio,  and  to 
the  dignitaries  of  the  place,  who  gave  me  letters  of 
introduction  to  other  influential  men  in  the  country, 
which  were  especially  available  in  the  exploration  of 
Isabella,  already  described,  and  my  acquaintance  with 
the  President  of  the  republic. 

After  my  return  from  Isabella,  having  a  week  to  wait 
for  the  next  coast  steamer,  I  settled  down  to  the  busi- 
ness of  the  Exposition,  the  British  Consul  kindly  giving 
me  the  use  of  the  consulate  as  an  office.  Over  the 
door  was  the  customary  shield,  with  the  coat  of  arms  of 
Great  Britain. 

One  day,  as  I  was  within,  busily  writing,  I  noticed  a 
small  boy  at  the  door,  evidently  lost  in  rapt  admiration 
of  the  numerous  and  ferocious  lions  that  adorned  the 
shield.  They  evidently  struck  his  fancy,  for  he  began 
to  count  them ;  and  it  was  fortunate  for  that  boy  that 
the  occupant  of  the  office  did  not  happen  to  be  a  "Brit- 
isher," for  this  is  what  he  said.      Regarding  the  lions 


284 


IN    THE    WAKE    OF    COLUMBUS. 


aforementioned  very  intently,  he  counted  them  slowly 
as  follows:  " Dos pcrros,  trcs  pcrros,  cnatro  pcrros  grandcs 
—  y  cinco  perritos. "  "  Two  dogs,  three  dogs  —  four  big 
dogs,  and  five  pups!  " 

I  dashed  out  to  chastise  the  little  wretch ;  but  he 
looked  so  innocent  and  happy  that  I  refrained,  and  to  this 
day  that  insult  to  the  British  crown  goes  unavenged. 


VIEW   OF   THE   PLAZA    AND    CHURCH    AT    PUERTO    PLATA. 


The  greatest  curiosity  here  is  the  Sereno,  the  night- 
watchman,  of  the  real  Spanish  type,  who  wTears  a  long 
cape,  carries  a  pike,  and  swings  a  lantern.  Every  half- 
hour  through  the  night  he  cries  out  the  time,  first  blow- 
ing a  shrill  whistle,  and  ending  up  with  the  state  of  the 
weather.     First   you   hear  a  click,  then  a  whistle,  and 


THE    PORT    OF   THE   SILVER   MOUNTAIN.  285 

then  he  lets  loose  his  lungs,  at  concert  pitch.  "Las 
nit  eve  "  (or  whatever  the  hour)  "  tiempo  scrcno.  Noo-oo- 
'  oo-oo-ay-ay-ay-vay-vay,  tee-ee-ee-em-emm-po-oo  say-ay -a  r- 
ray-ay-ay-no-o-o."  It  always  frightens  the  strangers, 
and  is  an  excellent  thing  for  the  evil-doers,  because  they 

•  can  always  locate  the  police. 

It  happened  that  the  President  of  Santo  Domingo 
arrived  at  Puerto  Plata  during  my  stay,  and  I  soon  had 

•  the  pleasure  of  an  introduction,  and  an  opportunity  to 
informally  present  my  papers.  He  expressed  himself 
as  desirous  to  "assist"  at  our  Exposition,  but  said  he 
would  have  to  consult  with  his  cabinet  at  Santo  Domingo 
City,  before  replying  officially  to  the  invitation  of  my 
Government.  He  was  a  very  able  and  intelligent  man, 
of  medium  height,  slight  build,  dark  mahogany  com- 
plexion and  close-curled  hair,  quiet  in  manner,  and  not 
given  to  dress.  He  spoke  English  imperfectly,  but 
French  and  Spanish  with  facility. 

At  the  time  of  our  meeting  he  was  on  his  way  to 
"pacificate"  the  Cibao  country,  this  being  done  by  the 
distribution  of  money  to  those  whom  he  considered  worth 
placating,  and  the  imprisonment  of  those  not  having 
that  importance.  With  him  was  his  Secretary  of  War. 
whose  attachment  to  his  person  and  elevation  to  office 
illustrates  the  sagacity  of  this  pacificator  of  Santo 
Domingo.  This  secretary  formerly  held  the  position 
of  collector  of  the  port  at  the  capital;  but  the  President 
found  he  was  collecting  too  much  for  himself  and  too 
little  for  the  country,  so  he  pondered  a  while,  and  then 
promoted  him.  Nanita,  the  collector,  had  aspirations 
for  the  presidency,  and  a  strong  following,  so  it  would 


286  IN  THE   WAKE  OF   COLUMBUS. 

not  be  politic  to  antagonize  his  friends,  hence  the  "pro- 
motion "  to  the  portfolio  of  war. 

At  the  time  of  our  visit  there  were  a  good  mam- 
Dutch  and  French  engineers  engaged  in  locating  the 
line  of  the  railroad  from  Puerto  Plata  to  Santiago. 
This  is  an  enterprise  which,  if  ever  completed,  will  be  a 
disastrous  speculation  for  its  promoters,  or  at  least  its 
stockholders,  as  it  (the  line)  connects  only  the  two  towns 
of  Puerto  Plata  and  Santiago,  and  has  a  very  rough  and 
mountainous  country  to  traverse. 

This  port  has  long  been  the  outlet  of  the  tobacco 
country  in  the  interior,  of  which  Santiago  is  the  center, 
and  in  the  season  thousands  of  horses  and  mules  come 
groaning  down  the  horrible  roads,  each  with  a  load  of 
two  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  on  its  back.  Their  backs 
are  raw  and  bleeding,  their  tails  caked  and  draggled 
with  clay,  their  legs  masses  of  mud,  and  their  whole 
aspect  woe-begone.  They  travel  in  droves,  without  rope 
or  bridle,  are  trained  to  push  on  and  over  all  obstacles, 
and  have  only  scant  fodder  of  grass  to  eat  at  the  end  of 
the  long  and  dangerous  journey.  All  the  tobacco  raised 
here  is  sent  to  Germany,  as  it  is  too  poor  for  the  Ameri- 
can market,  and  all  business  is  controlled  by  two  or 
three  firms.  This  monopoly  of  affairs  extends  even  to 
the  sale  of  postage  and  revenue  stamps,  which  can  be 
obtained  of  but  one  firm.  The  same  system  prevails  all 
over  the  country,  making  a  few  big  concerns  very  rich, 
and  keeping  the  bulk  of  the  population  very  poor. 

It  is  in  Puerto  Plata  that  one  sees  the  bullocks  and 
cows  pressed  into  the  service  of  transportation ;  not  only 
harnessed  into  carts  and  drays,  but  ridden  with  saddles. 


THE    PORT    OF   THE    SILVER    MOUNTAIN. 


287 


No  more  interesting  objects  present  themselves  than 
these  beasts  of  burden,  with  huge  aparejos  on  their 
backs,  sometimes  covered  all  over  with  stalks  of  sugar- 
cane, and  again  with  bales  of  tobacco.  Boys  and  girls 
ride  them  in  from  the  country,  leading  or  guiding  each 
beast  by  means  of    a  great  ring  through  the  nose,  to 


GIKL  ON  BULLOCK-BACK.  —  PUERTO  PLATA. 


which  a  rope  is  attached.  These  rings  remain  in  the 
noses  permanently,  and  sometimes  have  caused  the 
breaking  away  of  the  cartilage  and  have  been  inserted 
afresh  —  giving  the  noses  of  the  patient  animals  a 
ragged  appearance. 

The  Dominicans  have  inherited  all  the  cruel  traits  of 
the  Spanish  character,  including  the  barbarous  treatment 


288 


IN    THE    WAKE    OF   COLUMBUS. 


of  the  lower  animals,  and  have  them  all  under  subjec- 
tion. At  first  glance  it  seems  very  cruel,  and  one's 
sympathies  go  out  to  the  dumb  beasts ;  but  as  the  Domi- 
nicans look  at  it,  if  they  think  of  it  at  all,  the  choice  lies 
between  an  unruly  beast  and  danger  to  human  life,  and 
a  tractable  animal    in    complete    subjection,  and  to  be 


THE    TYl'ICAL    lSEAST    OK     BURDEN. 


handled  without  harm.  Indeed  I  can  hardly  recall  in 
my  years  of  travel  amongst  Spanish  and  Spanish-Ameri- 
can peoples,  a  dangerous  dog  in  the  streets,  a  refractory 
horse,  a  kicking  mule,  or  badly-balking  donkey. 

After  my  return  from  Isabella,  I  wrote  a  short  article 
for  the  local  paper,  the  Porvenir,  about  my  visit,  and  an 
interest  was  excited  that  bore  fruit  the  following  year 


THE   PORT    OF   THE    SILVER    MOUNTAIN.  289 

in  an  expedition  to  the  ruins,  by  some  of  the  best  people 
of  the  place.  They  discovered  several  relics  of  the 
early  times,  including  a  fragment  of  a  coat  of  mail, 
which  they  kindly  loaned  me  for  the  Exposition,  and 
also  defined  the  exact  site  of  the  first  church  erected 
here. 

Following  upon  their  discoveries  and  my  reports  to 
the  Department  at  Washington,  an  association  of  gentle- 
men was  organized  in  Massachusetts,  having  for  its  ob- 
ject the  erection  at  Isabella  of  a  monument  to  commem- 
orate the  event  of  the  founding  of  this  church,  at  the 
head  of  which  were  the  Rev.  Father  O'Brien,  of  Cam- 
bridge, Massachusetts,  and  Capt.  Nathan  Appleton  of 
Boston. 

Their  plans  were  subsequently  changed^  the  monu- 
ment erected  in  Boston,  and  the  original  scheme  en- 
larged to  include  a  church,  or  chapel,  on  the  site  of 
the  first  Catholic  church  in  America.  The  necessary 
permission  was  obtained  from  the  Dominican  Govern- 
ment, and  a  large  tract  of  land  most  generously  do- 
nated by  the  owner  of  Isabella,  Mr.  Passailaigue,  to 
whom  I  myself  was  indebted  for  favors  during  my 
visit.  The  American  Consul  secured  the  clearing  of 
a  space  sufficient  for  the  purpose,  and  at  the  time 
of  my  last  call  at  Puerto  Plata  —  in  the  midsummer 
of  1892 — all  was  in  readiness  for  the  foundations  to 
be  laid. 

For  the  cultivation  of  a  spirit  of  research,  and  the 
keeping  alive  of  an  interest  in  history  and  tradition, 
the  people  of  Santo  Domingo  are  indebted  to  a  resident 
of   Puerto   Plata,  Doctor  A.    Llenas,  who    has   written 


290 


IN   THE   WAKE  OF   COLUMBUS. 


much,  and  published  in  the  local  papers  valuable  arti- 
cles upon  the  aborigines,  the  antiquities,  and  the  first 
settlements. 

It  was  to  him  that  I  was  indebted  for  the  information 
that   led   to   the   recovery  of   the   long-lost   anchor   of 


WAB1TEFWHMKX'    <  >F    HAITI. 


Columbus's  caravel,  in  Haiti,  and  from  him  I  was  prom- 
ised the  loan  of  a  small  but  valuable  collection  of  anti- 
quities for  the  Exposition.  Would  that  the  island  held 
more  of  his  type,  and  less  of  the  paltry  politicians;  for 
men  like  him  keep  alive  the  spark  of  civilization,  and 
bring  the  country  in  touch  with  the  thought  and  pro- 
gress of  the  world. 

I  left  him,  and  all  my  good  friends  of  Puerto  Plata, 


THE    PORT    OF    THE    SILVER    MOUNTAIN. 


291 


with  regret,  as  the  Clyde  steamer  bore  me  away  toward 
Samana,  late  one  evening. 

The  same  cartman  who  had  charged  me  four  dollars 
for  the  transportation  of  my  effects,  took  them  back 
willingly  for  a  dollar,  and  I  had  my  revenge  in  photo- 
graphing his  bull-team —  the  cart  piled  high  with  the 
Commissioner's  luggage  —  as  it  stood  by  the  boat,  half- 
submersred  in  the  sea. 


XIV, 

SAMANA  AND  THE  BAY  OF  ARROWS. 

A  NIGHT'S  run  from  Puerto  Plata,  on  the  slow- 
going,  but  comfortable  Clyde  steamer,  took  me  to 
Samana  Bay.  At  daylight  we  rounded  Balandra  Head, 
the  great  commanding  headland  of  the  bay. 

This  grand  promontory  is  the  fore-foot  of  Morne 
Diablo,  the  mountain  rising  behind  it,  and  rests  at  the 
water's  edge  like  a  New  World  Sphinx.  With  its  great 
granite  face  looking  seaward,  and  draped  in  a  flowing 
garb  of  tropic  tapestry,  Balandra  Head  guards  the  most 
magnificent  bay,  or  gulf,  in  America.  I  rarely  deal  in 
superlatives,  but  in  this  case,  even  superlatives  cannot 
adequately  express  one's  admiration.  From  this  head- 
land, with  its  terraced  coast  line,  and  its  upward  sweep 
of  forest-growth  backward  into  the  clouds, there  is  a  con- 
stant succession  of  alternate  beach  and  bluff.  Beaches 
are  palm-bordered,  bluffs  are  forest-crowned,  white  sand 
glistens  in  crescentic  spaces,  deep  hollows  lie  amongst 
the  hills,  which  themselves  are  cultivable,  and  frequently 
cultivated,  to  their  very  tops. 

The  only  entrance  to  the  great  bay  lies  well  in  toward 
the  black  cliffs,  and  the  steamer  glides  past  the  beauti- 

292 


SAMANA  AND  THE  BAY  OF  ARROWS. 


293 


fill  beaches,  almost  within  hail  of  the  cabins  behind 
them,  and  the  black  men  fishing  on  the  shore.  Half  a 
dozen  times  since  my  first  acquaintance  with  Samana,  I 
have  looked  upon  this  range  of  hills  rising  above  the 
blue-and-silver  shore,  and  every  time  my  enjoyment  of 
the  glorious  scene  has  been  intense.  I  have  seen  many 
other  fair  places  in  the  world,  and  do  not  lack  the  mate- 


COALING    STATION.  — SAMANA    BAY. 


rial  for  comparison;  but  this  is  indeed  beyond  compare, 
and  unique  in  its  own  aboriginal  beauty. 

Interwoven  with  its  picturesqueness  of  superficial 
aspect  is  its  fascinating  thread  of  history,  leading  us 
back  to  that  very  first  voyage  to  the  New  "World,  when 
Columbus  came  here.      Coasting  easterly  from  Puerto 


294  IN    THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

Plata,  on  the  twelfth  of  January,  1493,  he  passed  several 
capes,  the  loftiest  and  boldest  of  which,  round,  and  all 
of  rock,  reminded  him  of  Cape  St.  Vincent  in  Portugal, 
the  same  that  is  now  called  Balandra  Head.  Behind 
this  promontory,  he  found  a  large  bay  of  at  least  three 
leagues'  breadth,  with  little  islets  near  the  middle. 
Landing  in  a  sheltered  bay,  he  remained  some  time,  and 
discovered  here  a  naked  Indian,  differing  from  the  others 
in  the  West,  and  probably  a  Carib,  who  gave  him  much 
information  regarding  the  unknown  islands  in  the  East 

Later,  at  another  little  cove  in  the  woods  behind  it, 
the  Spaniards  ran  across  "  a  body  of  fifty  Indians,  all 
naked,  with  coarse  hair  as  long  as  the  women  wear  it 
in  Castile,  the  backs  of  their  heads  adorned  with  parrots' 
feathers,  and  in  their  hands  big  bows  and  arrows. " 

At  first  appearing  friendly,  these  Indians  suddenly 
changed  front,  assumed  a  hostile  attitude,  and  attacked 
the  Spaniards.  This,  at  least,  is  the  story  of  the  Span- 
iards themselves;  the  other  side  has  not  yet  been 
published. 

The  Indians  were  of  course  repulsed,  and  fled,  leaving 
several  wounded,  and  their  bows  and  arrows  scattered 
on  the  ground.  This  was  the  first  encounter  in  the 
New  World  between  the  Indians  and  Europeans,  and 
here  the  first  blood  of  the  voyage  was  shed. 

From  this  encounter,  and  from  the  numerous  arrows 
picked  up  after  it  was  over,  Columbus  named  the  body 
of  water  the  Golfo  de  las  F/cr/ias,  or  the  Bay  of  Arrows. 
He  remained  here  several  days,  eventually  treating  with 
the  cacique  of  the  Samana  tribe,  from  whom  he  received 
a  golden  crown ;  and  hence  he  virtually  took  his  depart- 


SAMANA   AND    THE    BAY    OF   ARROWS.  295 

tire,  from  this  same  Bay  of  Samana,  for  Spain  and  the 
triumphs  that  awaited  him  at  the  Spanish  court. 

Taking-  on  board  a  few  of  the  Indians  as  guides,  he 
sailed  in  search  of  the  Isles  of  Madanino,  where  the 
alleged  Amazons  were  said  to  dwell.  It  may  be  re- 
marked in  passing,  that  the  Admiral  held  these  Ama- 


SCENE   OF    THE    FIRST   ENCOUNTER    WITH    THE   INDIANS. 
(Bay  of  Las  Flechas.) 

zons  in  mind  all  through  his  second  voyage,  and  thought 
he  identified  their  island,  Madanino,  with  Montserrate, 
in  the  Caribbee  chain.  But  after  sailing  about  rather 
aimlessly  for  a  while,  he  gave  up  the  search  for  the 
Amazons  and  the  Caribs,  and  headed  the  vessels  home- 
ward for  Spain.     Thus,  as  we  have  seen,  he  took  his 


290  IN    THE    WAKE    OF  COLUMBUS. 

last  land  view  at  the  Bay  of  Samana,  and  from  the 
headland  at  its  mouth  commenced  the  home  voyage 
that  eventually  brought  him  to  Lisbon  and  to  Palos. 

I  took,  one  day,  a  boat  trip  to  the  veritable  Las 
Flechas,  which  is  now,  as  in  the  days  of  Columbus, 
lonely  and  unvisited.  Two  or  three  huts  occupy  the 
lands  adjacent,  and  a  few  negroes  find  an  easy  existence 
on  its  shore.  The  beach  is  of  firm  white  sand,  o'er- 
topped  by  cocoa  palms,  and  a  small  islet  breaks  the 
force  of  the  waves  from  the  sea. 

The  real  harbor  of  Samana  lies  some  five  or  six  miles 
within  the  gulf,  and  is  called,  from  the  town  there,  Santa 
Barbara.  It  is  a  perfect  cul-de-sac^  with  deep  water 
close  up  to  the  cays  that  lie  opposite,  and  a  most  desir- 
able place  of  anchorage  for  even  the  largest  vessels.  It 
is  protected  by  a  line  of  reefs  and  connected  islets  that 
render  it  almost  landlocked,  with  a  narrow  entrance 
open  to  the  east.  The  hills  on  the  land  side  are  rather 
steep,  but  are  cultivated  to  their  tops,  and  offer  fine 
sites  for  houses;  the  valleys  are  fertile  for  tropical  pro- 
ducts; the  beaches, with  their  beautiful  fringes  of  palms, 
are  delightful  for  bathing;  the  bay  for  boating,  and  the 
reefs  for  fishing. 

The  entrance  to  the  Bay  of  Samana,  and  the  harbor 
of  Santa  Barbara  in  particular,  has  long  been  in  the 
eyes  of  different  nations  as  the  best  of  all  points  for 
a  West  Indian  coaling  station.  Its  advantages  are  so 
numerous  and  patent  that  no  doubt  at  all  exists  as  to  its 
desirability ;  but  for  various  reasons,  fortune  has  thus  far 
passed  it  by.  The  name  will  recall  to  the  reader  the 
great  "annexation  scheme  "  of  President  Grant,  and  the 


SAMANA    AND    THE    BAY    OF   ARROWS. 


297 


commission  of  experts  and  scientists  sent  down,  during 
his  administration,  to  spy  out  and  report  upon  the  re- 
sources of  the  island.  Samana  at  that  time  narrowly 
escaped  the  great  good  fortune  of  being  brought  under 
the  folds  of  the  American  flag,  the  benefits  of  which 
would  have  been  lasting  and  undoubted.  As  to  the  ad- 
vantages likely  to  accrue  to  us  from  such  an  acquisi- 
tion, there  exists  a  greater  doubt,  for  we  have  not  yet 
arrived  at  the  point  of 
national  growth  that 
will  warrant  us  in  ac- 
quiring and  holding 
extraneous  posses- 
sions. The  "holding 
of  it "  would  be  the 
difficult  matter,  for 
the  Dominicans  are 
born  to  strife;  they 
are  all  ambitious  and 
brave,  and  every  man 
in  the  peninsula 
would  feel  that  he, 
and  he  alone,  should 
be  elected  to  the 
presidency.  Our  lit- 
tle army,  that  now 
suffices   to    awe    the 

Indians  on  the  border,  would  be  totally  inadequate  to 
keep  in  subjection  these  residents  of  Santo  Domingo 
with  the  presidential  "  bees  "  in  their  bonnets. 

Below  the  town,  in  the  direction  of  the  head  of  the 


A    TYPICAL   WASHERWOMAN    OF   SA5IANA. 


298  IN   THE    WAKE   OF    COLUMBUS. 

gulf,  the  vegetation  on  the  hills  is  very  varied,  from 
the  bright  cocoa  palms  along  the  shore,  with  their  gray 
stems  and  golden  crowns,  to  the  somber  forest  leaves, 
and  all  intermixed  with  black  rocks  and  red  spaces  of 
earth,  giving  variety  of  color.  Some  ten  miles  down, 
there  is  a  large  plantation  owned  by  a  Boston  company, 
devoted  to  the  culture  of  bananas;  but  owing  to  lack  of 
transportation  facilities  it  has  not  as  yet  yielded  much. 

Two  hours'  steaming  takes  us  to  Sanchez,  at  the  bot- 
tom of  the  bay,  with  the  same  beautiful  hills  on  the 
right  as  greeted  us  at  the  entrance.  Sanchez  itself  is 
merely  a  gray  streak  of  buildings  against  dark  hills,  all 
covered  with  woods.  There  are  few  bright  beaches, 
but  there  are  many  palms  and  fine  headlands,  with 
attractive  retreats  snuggled  in  amongst  the  hills,  but 
with  a  general  aspect  of  depression.  This  is  not  owing 
to  the  lack  of  business  —  for  it  is  the  busiest  town  on 
the  north  coast  —  but  to  its  situation.  So  shallow  is  the 
bay  at  this  point,  that  the  steamer  anchors  some  two 
miles  from  shore,  a  landing  being  effected  in  a  little  tug 
belonging  to  the  railroad  company. 

This  railroad  is  the  only  one  in  active  operation  in 
the  island,  and  is  under  the  management  of  Mr.  Thomas 
McLelland,  a  Scotch  gentleman  of  tried  discretion  and 
ability,  who  has  resided  here  many  years.  The  first 
concession  for  a  road  into  the  interior  of  Santo  Domingo 
was  granted  to  an  American,  about  1882.  It  was  to 
connect  the  Bay  of  Samana  with  the  city  of  Santiago, 
and  open  the  rich  and  vast  valley  lying  between  the 
two  mountain  ranges  that  traverse  this  part  of  the  island. 
This  valley,  or  rather  succession  of  valleys,  has  a  varying 


SAM  AN  A   AND    THE    BAY    OF    ARROWS.  299 

width  of  thirty  to  fifty  miles,  running  in  a  northwesterly 
direction  from  the  Bay  of  Samana  at  Sanchez,  to  Man- 
zanillo  Bay  on  the  extreme  north  coast,  near  the  Haitian 
boundary;  the  distance  in  a  straight  line  is  about  one 
hundred  and  twenty  miles.  Scattered  along  the  course 
are'several  populous  towns:  as  Moca,  Macoris,  La  Vega, 
and  Santiago.  The  concession  passed  into  the  hands  of 
a  Scotchman,  Mr.  Alexander  Baird,  in  1883,  who,  alone 
and  unaided,  pushed  the  work  to  the  town  of  La  Vega, 
the  present  terminus.  Formidable  difficulties  were  en- 
countered at  the  outset,  the  first  being  a  nine-mile 
swamp,  with  a  depth  of  filling  necessary,  at  times,  of 
fifteen  to  twenty  feet.  A  port  had  to  be  created,  and 
this  was  done  at  Las  Canitas,  since  christened  Sanchez ; 
big  buildings  were  erected,  and  tugs  and  lighters  provided 
for  the  steamers  that  came  here  for  cargo.  An  induce- 
ment held  out  by  the  Dominican  Government  toward 
construction,  was  the  offer  of  every  alternate  section  of 
land  along  the  line;  but  upon  investigation,  after  the 
work  had  been  well  begun,  it  was  found  that  the 
Government  did  not  own  any  land  at  all ;  and  not  alone 
this,  but  all  the  settlers  in  the  valley  put  in  heavy 
claims  for  damages  and  right  of  way.  All  obstacles 
were  finally  overcome,  and,  in  1887,  the  line  was  opened 
to  La  Vega,  sixty-two  miles  inland.  The  hitherto  un- 
known Canitas  soon  became  an  important  point;  where 
before  were  only  palm-tree  and  guava  bush,  a  thriving 
town  sprang  up,  with  regular  steamers  calling  there, 
and  Sanchez  is  now  a  place  of  about  one  thousand 
inhabitants. 

The    railroad,  owing   to    the    enormous    expense   of 


300  IN   THE   WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

location  and  the  scarcity  of  skilled  labor,  has  cost  about 
two  and  a  half  millions  of  dollars;  but  it  is  owned  and 
operated  by  one  man,  and  no  one  but  himself  has  been 
a  sufferer.  It  has  never  paid,  as  an  investment,  and 
it  may  be  some  years  before  it  will;  but  it  is  carefully, 
intelligently  and  economically  managed,  and  if  there 
is  any  chance  whatever  for  its  development  and  exten- 
sion, the  present    manager,  Mr.    McLelland,  will  avail 


THE   APPROACH    TO    SANCHEZ. 


himself  of  it.  The  company  owns  six  locomotives, 
two  passenger  and  forty  freight  cars,  with  large  and 
well-equipped  machinery  shops  at  the  port,  where  also 
there  are  steam  tugs  and  a  fleet  of  lighters.  Regarded 
as  an  investment  merely,  this  enterprise  may  not  appear 
a  profitable  one;  but  as  an  evidence  of  what  pluck, 
energy,  and  British  capital  can  do,  it  is  an  object  lesson 
of  the  greatest  value.  To  be  sure,  having  no  stock  in 
the  enterprise,  we  can  view  with  equanimity  these  heroic 
efforts  to  plant  the  banner  of  civilization  on  the  outer 
works*,  but  I  believe  they  will  be  successful,  and  that  the 


SAMANA    AND   THE    BAY   OF   ARROWS.  301 

manager's  endeavors  to  turn  the  tide  to  his  employer's 
advantage  will  be  crowned  with  success. 

The  change  that  has  been  wrought  in  the  customs  of 
the  natives  is  wonderful.  Here  we  find,  at  the  port,  a 
colony,  the  nucleus  and  animating  principle  of  which  is 
Scotch  virtue  and  thrift.  One  lesson  Mr.  McLelland 
has  taught  the  natives  is  punctuality.  Until  the  rail- 
road was  opened,  they  knew  it  not,  neither  did  they 
regard  the  time-tables  when  they  were  posted.  If  the 
train  was  advertised  to  start  at  nine  o'clock,  they  read 
it  ten;  they  rode  leisurely  up  to  the  station,  hitched 
their  horses  to  the  nearest  tree, saluted  all  their  acquaint- 
ances within  ear-shot,  smoked  cigarettes  innumerable, 
and  lounged  about  aimlessly,  not  regarding  the  warn- 
ing whistle,  believing  the  train  would  surely  await  the 
motions  of  distinguished  caballeros  like  themselves; 
and  the  consequence  was  that  they  were  left  in  the 
station,  gazing  hopelessly  at  the  retreating  train. 

A  few  reminders  of  this  kind  taught  them  that  they 
could  not  dally  with  the  new  manager,  and  if  they  really 
wanted  to  go  to  another  station  on  the  line  they  must 
be  on  hand,  and  in  the  car  when  the  whistle  sounded. 

From  the  delightful  hospitality  of  Mr.  McLelland  at 
Sanchez,  I  tore  myself  away  with  difficulty,  and  under 
his  guidance  made  the  trip  to  La  Vega  and  the  Cibao. 
The  manager's  house  at  La  Vega  was  placed  at  my  dis- 
position, and  thence  I  made  preliminary  trips  to  the 
places  of  interest,  always,  thanks  to  my  friends,  return- 
ing heavily  laden  with  historic  spoils  for  the  Exposition. 


XV. 


THE    HOLY    HILL    OF    SAXTO    DOMINGO. 


MY  first  visit  to  Sanchez 
was  in  June,  1891 ;  my 


A    RELIC    FROM    <>LI>    VEGA 


second  in  May,  1892  ;  the  third 
was  in  July  of  the  same  year. 
As  I  had  all  the  islands  of  the 
West  Indies  to  include  in  my 
province  as  Commissioner,  and 
as  inter-insular  communica- 
tion is  desultory  and  unrelia- 
ble, I  could  not  always  arrive 
at  the  most  desirable  points  at 
the  time  desired. 
It  so  happened  that  every  visit  to  Santo  Domingo  was 
during  or  at  the  commencement  of  the  rainy  season. 
This  was  peculiarly  unfortunate,  since  in  this  island  of 
Santo  Domingo  more  than  in  any  other,  I  had  before 
me  the  labor  of  exploration  in  a  comparatively  unknown 
field,  where  the  roads  were  poor  or  non-existent,  and 
the  forests  difficult  to  penetrate.  At  the  time  of  my 
first  arrival,  a  great  flood  had  carried  away  the  railroad 
bridges  between  Sanchez  and  Vega,  and  by  the  advice 

302 


THE   HOLY    HILL  OF   SANTO   DOMINGO.  305 

of  the  manager,  I  continued  on  to  Santo  Domingo  City, 
returning  after  the  rains  had  abated  a  little. 

La  Vega,  the  terminus  of  rail  communication,  is  a 
straggling  town  of  mean  houses  set  down  in  the  midst 
of  scenery  perfectly  beautiful.  A  great  deal  of  business 
is  transacted  here,  as  it  is  the  market  town  and  railroad 
center  for  a  vast  region;  but  in  the  rainy  season  the 
roads  are  horrible,  being  merely  broad  mud-holes  filled 
with  filth,  in  which  pigs  are  rolling  and  dirty  children 
disporting  themselves.  The  population  is  mainly  col- 
ored, and  the  trade  is  controlled  by  a  few  shopkeepers. 

Designed  by  a  beneficent  Deity  for  the  abode  of  man, 
given  a  delicious  climate,  most  delightful  scenery  and 
fertile  soil  — how  man  has  abused  these  glorious  gifts  of 
the  Almighty!  Around  the  valley,  which  is  level,  and 
in  the  bend  of  the  river  Camu,  is  a  range  of  pine-covered 
hills,  the  vegetation  of  two  zones  thus  meeting  and 
blending  between  the  pine  and  the  palm. 

From  the  President  of  Santo  Domingo  and  his  minis- 
ters, I  bore  letters  of  introduction  to  the  Governor  of 
the  province  and  to  the  Government  Delegate,  recom- 
mending me  to  their  good  offices  and  requesting  their 
aid  in  my  explorations.  I  gained  a  side  glimpse  of  the 
peculiarities  of  Dominican  politics  in  these  letters,  for 
I  soon  perceived  that"  though  the  Governor  was  nomi- 
nally the  head  of  the  civil  body,  yet  the  Government 
Delegate  was  really  the  man  in  power.  In  other 
words,  the  Governor  had  been  appointed  to  please  the 
people,  and  as  a  figurehead;  but  the  real  representative 
of  the  Government  was  the  Delegate,  who  had  been 
placed  in  position  to  watch  the  Governor. 


306 


IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 


My  letters  were  received  with  the  respect  to  which 
they  were  entitled,  and  with  many  assurances  of  an 
overpowering  desire  on  the  part  of  the  recipients  to 
serve  me  to  the  full  extent  of  their  powers.  It  was 
arranged  that  a  body  of  gentlemen  should  meet  next 
day  at  Mr.  McLelland's  house,  and  escort  me  to  the  hill 


THE    MAXAGEK  m    Hi.H'sE    AT 


of  Santo  Cerro,  where  the  real  work  of  investigation 
was  to  begin.  They  were  to  meet  at  seven,  sharp;  but 
I  gave  myself  the  benefit  of  my  previous  acquaintance 
with  Dominican  character  to  defer  my  preparations  till 
nine,  and  about  ten  the  caballcros  came  straggling 
along.  There  were  ten  of  them,  a  gallant  cavalcade, 
mounted  on  horses  that,  if  not  spirited,  were  made  to 


THE    HOLY    HILL   OF   SANTO   DOMINGO.  307 

appear  so  by  application  of  the  cruel  bit  and  spur.  We 
rode  through  the  hall  with  great  eclat,  the  horses  of 
the  Governor  and  the  Delegate  in  friendly  rivalry  for 
the  leadership,  and  cutting  muckas  figuras  (curveting 
about)  to  the  openly-expressed  admiration  of  the  fair 
ones  in  the  doorways,  as  we  swept  along.  The  roads 
were  deep  and  muddy,  but  that  didn't  matter;  the 
horses  must  prance  just  the  same,  and  we  dashed  on,  re- 
gardless of  the  splashing  mud,  and  forded  the  broad 
river  at  a  run. 

Some  four  miles  more  of  mud-holes  lay  before  us,  but 
we  kept  well  together  all  the  way,  and  at  last  reached 
the  base  of  the  Santo  Cerro,  or  Holy  Hill.  It  is  a  stiff 
climb  up  the  hill,  even  on  foot,  but  our  prancing  steeds 
made  nothing  of  it,  and  the  black  charger  of  the  Gov- 
ernor dashed  showily  up,  snorting,  and  pawing  the  slip- 
pery clay,  and  awaited  us  panting  at  the  top.  Some  of 
our  party  were  indignant,  either  because  of  the  strain 
put  upon  a  beautiful  piece  of  horse  flesh,  or  else  because 
His  Excellency  had  got  ahead  of  them.  However,  we 
formed  at  the  church,  and  then  all  dashed  down  the 
narrow  street  like  a  party  of  cowboys,  only  without 
their  whoopings,  making  a  brave  appearance,  I  fancy, 
as  we  suddenly  halted  in  front  of  the  priest's  house, 
throwing  our  horses  upon  their  haunches  directly  in 
front  of  the  padre  and  his  pretty  sister  —  for  whose 
benefit,  I  doubt  not,  all  this  display  was  intended. 

We  nocked  into  the  house,  a  dozen  of  us,  at  least  —  for 
such  is  the  good  old  hospitable  way  they  have  in  the  island 
—  and  sat  expectant  while  the  ladies  of  the  household 
prepared  coffee  for  us.     After  an  hour  or  two  of  friendly 


308  IN    THE    WAKE    OF   COLUMBUS. 

chat,  during-  which  the  objects  of  my  mission  were  duly 
set  out,  and  hearty  co-operation  was  promised,  we  wan- 
dered over  to  the  church,  and  then  into  a  ticnda,  where 
the  old  woman  in  charge  promised  to  prepare  a  san-coche 
for  us  when  my  companions  returned.  For  they  were 
to  return  in  a  week  or  so  and  escort  me  back  to  Vega, 
with  all  the  honors. 

After  half  an  hour  of  affecting  leave-takings,  my 
friends  departed,  and  I  was  left  in  the  hands  of  the 
priest,  who  was  a  young  man  of  twenty-six,  living  in 
a  little  house  with  numerous  relations,  including  his 
mother  and  an  exceedingly  pretty  sister.  They  were 
kind,  sympathetic,  and  hospitable,  taking  me,  a  perfect 
stranger,  into  their  already  crowded  household,  and 
making  it  evident  that  I  was  welcome.  There  was  no 
room  at  the  parsonage  for  me  to  sleep,  but  I  was  given 
the  use  of  a  hut  adjoining,  in  which  my  things  were 
placed  and  my  hammock  swung.  It  had  a  mud  floor, 
to  be  sure,  and  a  roof  of  yagua,  or  palm  bark,  and  the 
hens,  the  cats,  the  dogs,  and  the  pigs,  walked  in  and  out 
at  will ;  but  it  was  the  best  to  be  had,  and  if  it  had  been 
a  palace  at  their  disposal,  instead  of  a  hut,  I  am  sure  it 
would  have  been  mine. 

Santo  Cerro,  or  the  Holy  Hill  of  Santo  Domingo,  is 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  of  the  natural  attractions  of 
the  island.  It  rises  some  six  hundred  feet  above  the 
magnificent  and  extensive  valley  called  the  Vega  Real, 
the  Royal  Plain,  which  extends  almost  across  the  island. 
It  was  in  1494  that,  breaking  through  the  mountain- 
walls  of  the  Yaqui  River,  coming  up  from  the  coast  of 
Isabella,  Columbus  gave  this  name  to  the  glorious  plain 


THE    HOLY    HILL   OF    SANTO    DOMINGO.  311 

before  him,  lying  there  like  a  vale  of  Paradise,  shining 
with  rivers,  dotted  with  palms,  above  which  floated  the 
smoke  from  populous  Indian  villages,  and  over  which 
spread  a  sky  of  purest  ether.  At  the  present  clay,  the 
name  is  applied  more  particularly  to  the  elevated  plateau 
between  the  towns  of  Santiago  and  La  Vega,  and  as 
viewed  from  this  holy  hill  of  Santo  Cerro. 

At  the  time  of  discovery,  the  island  of  Haiti  —  Ba- 
bcque  or  Quisqucya  as  it  was  variously  called  by  the 
natives,  and  Espaiiola,  as  Columbus  termed  it  —  was 
divided  under  the  dominion  of  five  caciques  or  chiefs. 
They  held  their  office  by  hereditary  right,  and  were  ab- 
solute within  their  own  territory.  The  first  cacique  to 
be  encountered  by  the  Spaniards  was  Guacanagari,  who 
held  sway  in  the  northeast,  over  what  is  now  Haiti 
proper,  and  on  whose  shore  the  flag-ship  of  Columbus 
was  wrecked.  His  territory  extended  east  to  the  Yaqui 
River,  where  began  the  possessions  of  Guarionex,  which 
embraced  all  the  valley  of  the  Yaqui,  and  all  the  Royal 
Vega,  probably  as  far  as  the  Gulf  of  Samana.  The 
third  caciquedom  was  in  the  interior  mountains,  and 
comprised  the  Cibao  (or  stony)  region,  where  the  rich 
gold  finds  were.  It  was  ruled  by  Caonabo,  a  chieftain 
of  Carib  descent,  the  fiercest  and  bravest  of  these 
Indians.  This  province  was  known  as  Maguana,  and 
the  seat  of  Caonabo,  on  the  southern  slope  of  the  Cibao 
range  of  mountains,  is  to-day  called  San  Juan  de  la 
Maguana.  The  fourth  province  was  Higuey,  including 
all  the  eastern  portion  of  the  island  south  of  the  river 
Yuna  and  Samana  Bay,  and  was  ruled  over  by  Cacique 
Cotubanama.     The  fifth  province,  Xaragua,  took  in  the 


312  IN   THE   WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

southwestern  and  western  part  of  the  island,  was  very 
populous,  and  under  the  sway  of  Behechio,  whose  sister, 
Anacaona,  was  the  wife  of  Caonabo,  and  celebrated  for 
her  beauty. 

The  subjection  of  the  Indians  began  with  that  of 
Guacanagari,  who  was  soon  a  fugitive;  then  Caonabo  was 
captured,  in  1494,  and  the  Spaniards  moved  upon  the  rich 
cacique,  Guarionex,  in  1495.  It  was  in  March,  1495,  that 
Columbus  set  out  from  Isabella  to  punish  the  Indians 
of  the  Vega  for  alleged  outrages  provoked  by  lawless 
Spaniards. 

The  army  marched  up  the  valley  of  the  Yaqui  to 
a  point  near  the  present  city  of  Santiago,  and  there 
encountered  the  savages  assembled,  it  is  said,  to  the 
number  of  one  hundred  thousand.  But,  whatever  the 
number,  they  stood  no  chance  with  the  Spaniards ;  with 
their  naked  bodies  and  primitive  weapons,  they  were 
almost  defenseless  against  mail-clad  soldiers  armed  with 
swords  and  pikes,  cross-bows  and  arquebuses,  and  hav- 
ing the  aid  of  horses  that  seemed  to  the  Indians  devour- 
ing beasts,  and  of  fierce  bloodhounds  that  tore  them  in 
pieces  with  growls  of  rage.  They  soon  fled,  of  course, 
and  the  monsters  that  came  here  in  the  garb  of  civ- 
ilization pursued  them  till  they  were  weary  with  the 
slaughter.  The  province  of  Guarionex  came  under 
the  hoof,  and  Columbus  imposed  exacting  tribute  that 
soon  crushed  out  of  these  peaceful  people  the  little  life 
remaining.  Gold  was  what  he  wanted,  and  gold  he  got, 
until  the  streams  and  superficial  deposits  were  exhausted, 
and  the  Indians  borne  down  into  their  graves. 

The  cacique  offered  to  sow  the  entire  Vega  with  corn, 


THE    HOLY    HILL    OF    SANTO    DOMINGO. 


313 


and  furnish  supplies  enough  for  the  army  for  years ;  but 
Columbus  would  not  hear  to  this  proposition,  and  soon 
was  experiencing  the  rewards  of  his  short-sighted  pol- 
icy; for  the  Indians  fled  to  the  mountains,  and  famine 
spread  over  the  land. 

Then  Columbus  sent  home  to   Spain  as  slaves,  five 
hundred  Indians,  thus  not  only  initiating  the  system  of 


SANTO   CERRO    CHURCH    AND   THE   AGED   TREE. 

tribute   that  hastened  their    extinction,  but  laying   the 
foundation  for  slavery  in  America. 

After  the  battle,  the  Spaniards  prowled  through  the 
Vega,  plundering  the  natives,  and  shortly  came  to  the 
hill  now  known  as  Santo  Cerro.  From  its  summit 
Columbus  saw  the  magnificence  of  the  country  he  had 


314  IN    THE    WAKE    OF   COLUMBUS. 

conquered,  and  by  some  historians  it  is  told  that  the 
great  battle  was  watched  by  him  from  this  very  spot. 

He  was  here,  at  all  events;  and  an  aged  tree  is  still 
pointed  out  near  the  church,  beneath  which  he  stood 
and  looked  out  over  the  plain,  and  which  is  called  the 
"  Nispero  de  Colon.'"  The  padre  gave  me  fragments  of 
it  to  take  home ;  though  I  attach  no  importance  to  such 
relics  as  do  not  carry  their  value  on  the  face. 

Beneath,  or  near,  this  tree,  Columbus  erected  a  cross ; 
and  it  is  from  a  miracle  said  to  have  been  performed 
anent  this  very  cross,  that  the  hill  received  its  name  of 
Santo  Cerro  —  the  Holy  Hill.  It  seems  that  after  the 
Spaniards  had  departed,  the  Indians  espied  this  cross, 
and  approached  to  revile  it.  As  they  did  so,  they  saw 
a  woman  descend  from  the  clouds  and  alight  upon  the 
cross.  It  was  the  Holy  Virgin,  but  the  savages  did 
not  know  her,  and  proceeded  to  stone  her  away.  She 
did  not  move;  then  they  let  fly  their  arrows  at  her,  but 
the  sharp  barbs  passed  through  her,  and  did  not  seem  to 
affect  her  determination  to  remain  and  protect  the  cross. 
Seeing  this  the  Indians  recognized  her  saintliness,  and 
fell  down,  and  were  converted  on  the  spot. 

Ever  since,  the  hill  has  been  a  sacred  spot;  and  the 
handsome  chapel  now  erected  there  is  the  result  of  con- 
tributions from  those  who  believe  the  tradition,  and 
have  faith  in  the  efficacy  of  the  saintly  patron's  charms. 
The  people  come  from  many  miles  around  to  pay  their 
devotions  here  and  perform  their  vows,  and  the  little 
hamlet  is  entirely  supported  by  the  contributions  of  the 
faithful.  It  is  a  scant  living  they  get,  these  dwellers  on 
the   Holy   Hill,  but   there   is    a    silversmith    here  who 


THE   HOLY    HILL   OF   SANTO   DOMINGO. 


315 


makes  charms,  a  baker  or  two,  and  many  hangers-on  in 
general,  who  live  in  the  yagua-covered  huts,  on  the 
brink  of  the  hill  and  of  poverty. 

The  image  of  the  Virgin  contained  within  the  chapel 
is  a  very  beautiful  one,  and  is  said  to  date  from  the  time 
of  Columbus.      The  padre,  one  day,  raised  the  curtain 


fa 


.k^.__L  _    "  ;^l=j.         -  mm- 


^■T)v  -V^^^^p^O  ^  v-fvyr     JW 


THE   SHRINE   OF   THE  VIRGIN  WORSHIPED    IN   THE    TIME   OF    COLUMBUS. 


that  hid  her  from  vulgar  gaze  except  on  certain  feast- 
days,  and  granted  me  the  privilege  of  photographing 
her  in  all  her  beauty  of  gold  and  tinsel,  paint,  silks  and 
artificial  flowers. 

Although  this  island  and  this  shrine  are  in  the  pos- 
session of  colored  and  black  people,  yet  they  have  gen- 
erally white  saints  and  virgins  in  their   churches,  and 


316  IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

mostly  white  priests  at  the  altars.  The  padre  (to  be 
exact,  perhaps  I  should  say  the  curd)  is  descended 
from  white  ancestors  from  Spain,  and  is  a  typical  Span- 
iard. He  and  his  family  were  goodness  and  hospitality 
personified  —  seeking  ways  to  promote  the  success  of 
my  enterprise,  and  to  enhance  the  pleasure  of  my  stay. 
I  doubt  if  the  ecclesiastical  revenues  were  vast,  judg- 
ing from  the  poverty-stricken  people  that  congregated 
here ;  but  there  seemed  no  limit  to  his  generosity  and 
kindness. 

Looking  about  for  articles  of  interest  for  the  Exposi- 
tion, I  espied  in  the  church  an  old  bell,  dated  1777, 
cracked  and  useless,  but  of  quaint  pattern,  and  this  I 
begged  of  the  cura,  who  at  once  gave  it  to  me.  He 
gave  it  freely;  but  I  noticed  that  in  the  belfry  there 
was  a  small  bell  missing,  and  I  resolved  to  supply  its 
place.  So,  in  the  report  to  my  chief,  I  recommended 
that  another,  and  a  good  bell,  be  sent  in  exchange  for 
this  the  cura  had  given  us.  And,  a  year  later,  coming 
back  to  Santo  Cerro,  I  had  the  pleasure  of  assisting  at 
the  hanging  of  it.  My  dear  padre  had  been  transferred 
to  another  station,  but  another  good  man  was  in  his 
place,  and  it  was  with  heartfelt  thanks  to  the  execu- 
tives of  the  Exposition,  who  had  sent  him  this  beauti- 
ful bell,  that  he  received  me.  Miguel,  the  sacristan, 
took  me  up  to  the  tower,  and  I  had  the  satisfaction  of 
ringing  it. 

Another,  and  yet  more  interesting  relic  of  earliest 
times,  I  begged  of  the  cura  as  a  loan:  this  was  an 
iron  cross  that  had  been  dug  up  on  the  church  site  of 
the    oldest    city  in   this  region,  and   had  hung   in  the 


THE    HOLY    HILL   OF    SANTO    DOMINGO. 


317 


chapels  here  from  time  immemorial.  It  is  of  quaint 
and  intricate  pattern,  and  very  old,  probably  coming  to 
this  country  from  Spain  with  the  conquistador cs.  Still 
another  relic  was  found  in  the  shape  of  an  old  cannon, 
a  small  howitzer,  or  lombard,  from  the  first  fort  erected 
by  Columbus  in  this  region.  It  had  been  burst  in  firing 
at  some  religious  fete,  but  was  still  good  for  a  noise, 
although  the  one  that  touched  it  off  took  his  life  in  his 
hand.  I  promised  a  gun  in  exchange  for  this,  also,  and 
an  amusing  mistake  at  the  War  Department  caused  the 


A  VIEW   OF    SANTO    CERRO. 


sending  to  Santo  Domingo  of  a  fine  bronze  field-piece, 
though  of  an  obsolete  pattern,  instead  of  the  small 
yacht  gun  I  had  intended.  When  I  reached  Sanchez 
a  year  later,  it  lay  in  the  warehouse  of  the  railroad 
company,  being  so  large  and  fine,  and  so  altogether 
desirable  for  revolutionary  purposes,  that  the  manager 
hesitated  to  send  it  into  the  interior.  In  fact,  rumor 
had  it  that  several  revolutionary  leaders  were  anxiously 


318 


IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 


awaiting  its  arrival,  and  the  President  was  beginning  to 
inquire  about  it.  So  it  did  not  go  in';  but  I  saw  the 
President  afterward,  and  he  promised  me  an  ancient 
gun  for  it,  from  the  arsenal  at  the  capital. 

Near  the  Cerro  is  an  arroyo  through  which  runs  the 
stream  Chancleta,  the  water  of  which  has  the  peculiar 


\fif 


ALONG   THE    RIVKR    YL'XA. 


property  of  incrusting  objects  placed  in  it  with  a  crys- 
talline deposit.  Bottles  and  other  objects  are  sold 
at  the  Cerro  covered  with  this  deposit,  which  is  fer- 
ruginous in  color  and  vitreous  in  appearance.  Within 
the  chapel  a  sacred  well  is  shown,  from  which  at  times 
gushes  out  a  spring  of  water  possessing  wonderful  effi- 
cacy when  blessed  by  the  priest;  and  half-way  down 
the  hill  is  another,  supposed  to  have  connection  with 


THE   HOLY    HILL   OF   SANTO   DOMINGO.  319 

this.  The  hill  itself  is  half-covered  with  tropical  forest- 
growth,  and  the  path  ascending  is  divided  into  stations 
for  the  devotees,  indicated  by  crosses,  while  a  group  of 
wooden  crosses  adorns  the  crown  of  the  hill. 

As  to  the  view  from  the  church,  I  confess  myself 
unable  to  do  it  justice  in  words,  merely.  It  surpasses 
the  view  of  the  Yumuri  Valley  from  Guadeloupe,  in 
Cuba,  and  in  some  respects  the  outlook  over  Granada 
from  the  Alhambra  Palace  —  both  of  which  I  have  en- 
joyed,but  each  has  a  different  charm.  From  a  height  of 
six  hundred  feet  and  more,  one  looks  directly  down  upon 
tropical  gardens  occupied  by  palm-covered  huts  and 
flaming  with  the  vivid  crimson  of  the  flamboyant  trees, 
and  beyond,  over  forests  of  palms,  groves  of  cacao,  cof- 
fee, plantains  and  bananas :  a  vast  plain,  bounded  only 
by  the  hills  of  the  Monte-Cristi  range;  populous,  yet 
silent ;  fertile,  yet  half-cultivated ;  beautiful,  yet  with  its 
beauties  unenjoyed.  Looking  upon  these  visible  charms 
which  so  moved  the  Admiral  that  he  called  it  the 
Royal  Vega,  and  recalling  the  immortal  events  of  his- 
tory that  have  transpired  here,  the  heart  swells  with 
emotions  difficult  to  express.  With  the  witchery  of  the 
moon  upon  it  all,  it  was  inexpressibly  beautiful,  and  I 
would  that  all  who  love  the  divine  in  nature  could  at 
least  look  once  upon  it. 

The  rainy  season  had  caught  me  here;  my  plans  were 
frustrated,  and  the  work  I  had  contemplated  retarded. 
But  I  made  excursions  to  the  ruins  of  the  earthquake- 
ruined  city  in  the  plain,  in  the  intervals  of  the  rains, 
and  a  journey  to  Santiago,  returning  with  pleasure  to 
my  quarters  with  my  good  friend  the  padre. 


320 


IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 


When  the  day  came  at  last  to  depart,  half  the  vil- 
lagers descended  to  the  plain  to  see  me  on  my  way. 
The  padre  was  the  last  to  leave  me,  and  he  sent  along 
Miguel,  in  charge  of  a  sturdy  donkey  groaning  beneath 
the  "plunder"  I  had  collected  for  the  Exposition  —  the 
bell,  the  lombard,  and  the  cross,  as  well  as  numerous 
"  curios  "  yet  unmentioned. 


\i 


. 

' 

■ 

5 

7 

■ 

1 

*  1 

1 

f 

WINDOW   IX   ROSABIO   CHAPEL,    SANTO     DOMINGO. 

{The  oldest  chapel  i?i  America.) 


XVI. 

THE    EARTHQUAKE-BURIED    TOWNS. 

MY  chief  reason  for  establishing  myself  at  Santo 
Cerro,  was  to  be  within  working  distance  of  the 
ancient  Vega  Vieja,  Old  Vega,  which  was  one  of  the 
towns  destroyed  by  the  great  earthquake  of  1564.  It 
has  long  been  a  tradition  that  beneath  the  walls  a  great 
deal  of  treasure  lies  buried. 

But  what  wras  of  even  more  importance  to  me  was 
that  many  relics  of  the  times  of  the  conquistadores  were 
yet  to  be  found  by  search.  After  the  subjugation  of 
the  Indians,  Columbus  erected  a  line  of  forts  across  the 
upland  plain,  the  first  being  near  the  pass  through  the 
mountains  at  the  entrance  to  the  Yaqui  Valley;  the  sec- 
ond farther  up ;  the  third  at  or  near  the  present  city 
of  Santiago,  and  the  last  and  most  important  near  the 
hill  now  known  as  Santo  Cerro.  This  was  called  Con- 
cepcion  de  la  Vega,  and  being  in  a  most  fertile  district, 
and  also  quite  near  the  residence  of  Guarionex,  the 
cacique  of  the  Vega,  it  soon  became  the  nucleus  for 
a  thriving  settlement.  A  large  town  eventually  sur- 
rounded it,  and  the  ruins  to-day  indicate  its  extent, 
being  scattered  over  a  great  area. 

321 


322 


IN   THE    WAKE    OF   COLUMBUS. 


The  most  conspicuous  ruins  are  those  of  the  church, 
the  fortress,  and  a  large  convent,  the  latter  supposed  to 
have  been  built  by  the  bequest  of  Columbus.  Owing 
to  the  richness  of  the  country  adjacent,  in  gold  and 
agricultural  resources,  the  town  had  the  reputation  of 


•  aSlJ* 


j^ 


RUINS   OF   THE    CHURCH    BUILT    liV    BEQUEST    OK    COLUMBUS. 


being  wealthy,  at  the  time  of  its  destruction,  which 
occurred  the  twentieth  of  April,  1564,  during  the  cele- 
bration of  the  morning  mass.  This  was  some  seventy 
years  after  the  founding  of  the  fort,  and  when  the  town 
had  become  the  chief  settlement  of  this  region.  Miguel, 
the  sacristan,  who  had  assumed  charge  of  me  at  Santo 
Cerro,  and  whose   hammock   hung   in   the    only   other 


THE   EARTHQUAKE-BURIED   TOWNS.  323 

room  the  hut  contained,  called  me  at  six  in  the  morning, 
and  at  seven  we  were  descending  the  steep  hill  toward 
Old  Vega.  The  path  was  filled  with  people  coming  to 
the  Saturday  mass,  which  is  the  mass  of  the  Virgin,  and 
is  attended  from  far  and  near. 

About  two  miles  from  the  hill,  we  found  four  peons 
awaiting  us,  and  at  eight  o'clock  we  were  at  work  clean- 
ing out  the  angle  of  the  fort.  This  old  fort  is  the  veri- 
table "  Fort  Concepcion  "  erected  by  order  of  Columbus, 
in  1495.  There  are  yet  remains  enough  to  show  its  origi- 
nal plan,  though  it  is  entirely  in  ruins  except  the  north- 
east angle,  where  its  circular  bastion  is  nearly  perfect. 
Here,  the  walls  are  about  ten  feet  high,  six  feet  thick, 
with  a  space  of  sixteen  feet  inside.  As  near  as  one 
may  judge  from  the  remains,  the  fort  was  about  two 
hundred  feet  square,  with  the  circular  bastions  at  the 
four  corners,  built  mainly  of  brick,  and  in  the  thorough 
manner  of  the  old  Spanish  architects. 

For  years  and  years,  the  residents  of  the  Vega  have 
been  digging  out  the  bricks,  until  nearly  the  whole 
structure  has  been  taken  away,  except  the  northeast 
angle.  The  site  is  nearly  overgrown  with  large  trees, 
and  the  surroundings  are  attractive  —  the  fields  adjacent 
slope  to  the  hills,  and  through  the  trees  is  a  fine  view  of 
the  Cerro.  The  site  does  not  appear  to  have  been  com- 
manding, some  of  the  ruins  of  houses  being  higher  up, 
but  the  surface  features  may  have  changed  in  the  lapse 
of  four  hundred  years. 

After  having  given  the  peons  another  spot  to  exca- 
vate, I  retired  to  the  thatched  tobacco  shed  on  the 
crown  of  a  low  hill,  and  there  superintended  operations. 


324 


IN    THE    WAKE    OF   COLUMBUS. 


It  is  a  most  beautiful  spot,  in  the  midst  of  a  clean-kept 
garden.  Tall  palms  rise  above  the  shed,  a  papaw-tree 
stands  in  front,  sugar-cane,  bananas,  plantains,  maize, 
tobacco,  yucca,  cassava,  melons,  and  peppers,  grow  lux- 
uriantly all  around,  while  cahuiles,  plums,  cocoa  palms, 
and   calabashes,  are   sprinkled   all    about   the   garden. 


RUINS   OK    FORT    CONCEPCION. 


Such  a  garden,  with  almost  all  these  fruits  and  vege- 
tables, might  have  had  Guarionex,  the  cacique  of  the 
Vega,  before  the  Spaniards  came;  and  this  spot  was 
very  near,  if  not  on  the  site  of  his  village. 

The  hills  of  the  Cerro  range  rise  near,  and  across 
the  valley  above  Moca,  others  rise  blue  against  the  sky. 
Cool  breezes  sweep  through,  as   I  swing  there  in  my 


THE   EARTHQUAKE-BURIED   TOWNS.  325 

hammock,  and  the  simple  people  crowd  around  with 
bits  of  old  iron  and  brass,  from  the  ruins,  to  sell,  and 
occasionally  something  better  —  as  for  instance,  an  ori- 
ginal "hawk's  bell,"  or  campanita,  which  the  first  Span- 
iards brought  here  for  traffic  with  the  Indians,  and 
which  the  natives  treasured  above  all  other  things,  bar- 
tering for  these  bells  their  most  valued  possessions,  and 
giving  in  exchange  great  lumps  of  gold.  With  what  I 
bought  and  what  I  dug  out  of  the  ruins,  I  brought  away- 
some  hundreds  of  objects  for  the  Exposition;  most  of 
them  were  small,  but  many  of  them  were  valuable  for 
the  confirmatory  evidence  they  give  on  the  early  history 
of  this  region.  The  most  valuable  of  all  my  "finds," 
perhaps,  is  a  small  bell,  which,  we  have  every  reason  to 
believe,  was  the  first  that  ever  was  brought  to  America 
for  religious  purposes. 

The  only  ruins  of  any  importance  whatever,  are  those 
of  the  fort  and  the  old  church.  The  latter  are  near  the 
highway,  and  consist  of  great  crumbling  blocks  of  ma- 
sonry, hung  with  vines  and  overgrown  with  the  para- 
sitic "fig-tree."  This  church  was  the  first  to  be  built 
after  that  of  Isabella,  and  when,  toward  the  last  of  the 
fifteenth  century,  that  settlement  was  abandoned,  all  the 
ecclesiastical  furniture  of  the  first  church  was  brought 
to  the  more  recent  settlement  of  the  Vega  —  then  a 
promising  town  around  the  fort  called  Concepcion.  It 
is  believed  that  amongst  other  things  this  bell  was 
taken  here  and  hung  in  the  belfry  of  the  church,  and 
there  seems  little  doubt  that  this  was  the  first  brought 
to  America  by  Columbus  as  the  gift  of  Isabella,  placed  in 
the  chapel  there,  and  later  taken  to  the  Vega.      It  hung 


821)  IN  THE   WAKE  OF   COLUMBUS. 

in  the  tower  till  the  great  earthquake  of  1564,  when  the 
church  was  tumbled  to  the  ground.  The  tower  re- 
mained almost  intact,  though  cracked  and  shattered, 
but  the  bell  was  lost  to  sight.  The  dwellers  of  the  city 
hastened  to  the  site  of  the  present  Vega,  and  there  set- 
tled, and  the  site  of  Concepcion  was  neglected  and 
well-nigh  forgotten. 

Some  years  ago,  a  man  observed  a  strange  object  in 
the  branches  of  a  "fig-tree  "  that  had  grown  around 
the  tower  and  penetrated  the  belfry.  These  "figs" 
are  parasitic,  and  wrap  themselves  around  any  object 
within  their  reach,  whether  it  be  tree,  wall  or  post. 
I  have  seen  some  with  large  trees  of  another  species 
growing  from  their  hearts,  apparently,  so  thoroughly 
had  they  enmeshed  them.  They  form  a  perfect  net- 
work around  the  object  enclosed,  through  which  it  can 
be  seen ;  and  their  strength  is  so  great  that  they  some- 
times lift  stones  and  plants  from  the  ground.  This 
"fig"  around  the  tower  had  entered  the  belfry,  and 
emerged  with  the  long-hidden  bell  in  its  ligneous  arms, 
bringing  it  to  the  light  of  day,  after  the  lapse  of  at  least 
three  centuries.  Perceiving  this,  the  simple  people 
looked  upon  this  re-appearance  as  nothing  short  of 
miraculous,  and  the  "bell  of  the  fig-tree"  became  fa- 
mous throughout  the  island.  It  finally  came  into  the 
possession  of  Father  Bellini,  a  priest  now  deceased, 
whose  good  works  are  manifest  in  many  things  he  did 
for  the  people  of  Santo  Domingo.  Father  Bellini  took  it 
to  the  capital,  where  it  hung  for  several  years  in  the 
school  he  founded  there,  and  where  I  first  saw  it. 
Through  the  good  offices  of  Senor  Galvan,  at  that  time 


THE   EARTHQUAKE-BURIED    TOWNS. 


327 


in  Washington  as  plenipotentiary  from  the  government 
of  Santo  Domingo  to  negotiate  a  treaty  with  the  United 
States,  this  bell  was  obtained  for  the  Exposition.  At 
the  request  of  the  Chief  of  the  Latin- American  Depart- 
ment of  the  Exposition,  Mr.  W.  E.  Curtis,  a  letter  was 
sent  to  the  heirs  of  Father  Bellini,  requesting  them  to 
deliver  to  me,  as 
Commissioner  of  the 
Exposition,  this  pre- 
cious relic.  After  the 
customary  felicita- 
tions, the  letter  goes 
on  to  say  :  "Mr. 
Curtis,  interested  in 
the  welfare  of  our 
Republic,  desires  that 
this  bell  occupy  the 
distinguished  place 
in  the  Exposition 
which  properly  be- 
longs to  it  from  its  „. 
historic  importance, 
and  has  applied  to 
me  to  assist  in  pro- 
curing as  a  loan  the 

bell  in  question.  I  participate  in  his  desire,  and  transmit 
it  to  you,  begging  you  to  associate  your  name  and  that  of 
our  Reverend  Father  Bellini  (whom  God  guard)  with  this 
honorable  exhibit  of  what  our  country  once  signified  in 
the  colonization  of  the  American  world  —  as  also  in  the 
estimation  of  the  catholic  sovereign  (Ferdinand)  whose 


A    PRECIOUS    KELIC. 


328  IN    THE    WAKE    OF   COLUMBUS. 

monogram  is  engraved  upon  the  bell  itself.  Mr.  Ober, 
Special  Commissioner  of  the  Exposition  to  the  Antilles, 
will  place  this  letter  in  your  hands,  and  I  recommend 
him  warmly  to  your  attentions,  doubting  not  that  you 
will  confide  to  his  care  the  bell  referred  to,  for  which  he 
will  give  a  receipt,  with  a  promise  to  return  it  at  the 
close  of  the  Exposition ;  and  this  you  can  do  with  all 
confidence,  in  view  of  the  official  and  personal  character 
of  the  gentleman  named." 

Armed  with  this  letter,  when  at  the  capital  I  called 
upon  General  Bellini,  nephew  of  the  deceased  priest,  in 
whose  charge  the  bell  then  remained,  and,  after  a  long 
interview,  during  which  it  seemed  extremely  doubtful  if 
the  bell  could  be  secured,  I  was  taken  out  to  see  it.  I 
anxiously  awaited  the  movements  of  the  General,  and 
was  not  happy  until  he  finally  placed  it  in  the  carriage 
we  had  in  waiting,  and  drove  with  me  to  the  American 
Consulate,  where  I  put  it  in  the  safe.  Next  morning, 
bright  and  early,  I  took  it  on  board  the  Clyde  steamer, 
got  a  receipt  from  the  purser,  who  placed  it  in  the 
specie  tank,  and  then  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the 
steamer  sail  away.  I  say  satisfaction,  because  I  knew 
that  the  relic  was  not  safe  until  well  beyond  the  reach 
of  any  one  who  might  wish  to  prevent  its  deportation  to 
the  States.  It  was  held  as  such  a  sacred  relic  that  the 
whole  public  felt  they  had  an  interest  in  it,  and  were  it 
known  that  it  was  to  be  taken  away,  there  would  be 
trouble. 

Indeed,  I  had  barely  finished  my  breakfast,  before  a 
messenger  from  the  General  desired  me  to  return  the 
bell  at  once,  as  his  friends  strenuously  objected  to  its 


THE   EARTHQUAKE-BURIED   TOWNS. 


329 


exportation.  Happily,  I  could  say  that  it  was  then  im- 
possible, since  the  bell  was  already  on  board  the  depart- 
ing steamer,  and  beyond  my  reach.  The  General  took 
the  defeat  good-naturedly,  but  was  not  satisfied  until  I 
had  given,  not  only  my  personal  receipt,  but  had  insured 
the  bell  itself  for  a  thousand  dollars.      This  was  done; 


ONE    OF    THE    MOST    INTERESTING    SPOTS   OF    JACAGUA. 


and  that  is  the  manner  in  which  I  obtained  one  of 
the  most  precious  of  American  relics  for  our  great 
Exposition. 

The  house  I  was  excavating  at  Old  Vega  was  said  to 
be  about  the  only  one  that  had  not  been  opened  since 
the  earthquake,  and  I  hoped  to  find  something  worthy 
of  the  undertaking;  but  an  all-day  search  revealed  very 


330  IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

little.  I  suppose  that  there  was  little,  if  any,  wealth 
at  the  time  of  its  destruction,  though  the  gold  from  the 
mountain  mines  was  brought  here  to  be  refined  before 
being  sent  to  Spain. 

The  bright  day  came  to  an  end  at  last,  my  men  gave 
up  the  search,  and .  we  departed  for  the  Cerro.  It  was 
my  intention  to  spend  several  days  in  excavating ;  but 
that  night  the  rains  began,  and  as  the  downpour  con- 
tinued all  the  week  following,  I  was  unable  to  return. 

A  year  passed  before  I  could  again  visit  Old  Vega, 
and  the  rains  were  falling  as  before.  Since  the  first 
attempt,  however,  excavations  had  been  made,  with 
little  result,  and  my  only  object  was  to  obtain  a  photo- 
graph of  the  ruined  church,  which  I  had  not  secured  at 
my  first  visit. 

The  same  earthquake  that  destroyed  Old  Vega  laid 
waste  another  settlement,  lying  near  the  present  city  of 
Santiago.  I  intended  to  excavate  on  both  sites,  and, 
after  waiting  a  few  days  in  vain  for  the  rain  to  hold  up, 
I  started  for  the  other  locality. 

Miguel  engaged  a  peon  and  two  horses,  and  after 
breakfast  one  morning  we  started.  It  rained  from 
the  very  start,  and  I  had  six  long  hours  of  misery  on 
the  road.  The  first  hour  was  along  and  down  the  ridge 
of  the  Cerro,  amidst  lovely  scenery,  with  a  broad  view 
of  the  Vega,  and  after  descending  the  hill  we  crossed 
the  three  channels  of  the  Rio  Verde,  a  broad  and  beau- 
tiful stream  overhung  with  great  trees. 

Beyond  the  Verde  we  encountered  a  stretch  of  road 
where  the  horses  merely  plumped  from  one  deep  hole 
into  another.     These  holes  extended  as  far  as  the  eye 


THE   EARTHQUAKE-BURIED    TOWNS.  331 

could  reach,  and  made  the  road  one  vast  sea  of  mud 
crossed  by  regular  ridges,  like  deep  furrows  across  a 
ploughed  field  of  richest  soil.  Through  these  mud 
holes  women  and  children  were  struggling,  from  one 
slippery  hummock  to  another,  though  just  where  mud 
left  off  and  biped  began,  it  would  puzzle  an  expert  to 
decide,  so  plastered  and  bespattered  were  all  with  the 
rich  red  earth. 

This  road  was  opened  nearly  four  hundred  years  ago, 
and  not  a  dollar  has  been  expended  in  improvements 
since  the  first  mail-clad  conquistador  rode  through  the 
forests  between  La  Vega  and  Santiago,  seeking  a  trail 
to  connect  the  recently-erected  fortresses.  During  all 
this  time  mules  and  horses,  men  and  cattle,  have  set 
their  feet  in  the  self-same  holes,  until  now  they  can 
hardly  reach  the  solid  earth  beneath. 

Rank  and  rich  is  the  whole  country  between  Vega 
and  Santiago,  yet  it  is  not  made  to  yield  a  thousandth 
part  of  its  richness  to  the  hand  of  man.  It  has  the 
most  fertile  soil  and  the  most  beautiful  forms  of  vege- 
table life,  so  enticingly  luxuriant,  so  rankly  regal,  that 
it  made  my  heart  ache  to  think  upon  the  waste  of  it  all. 
Not  one  appreciative  glance  is  ever  cast  upon  this 
wealth  of  vegetation,  not  one  effort  is  made  at  adorn- 
ment, or  any  attempt  to  entice  forth  the  dormant  life 
that  only  needs  encouragement  to  leap  into  grateful 
recognition. 

There  is  not  a  house  or  hut,  in  all  the  twenty  miles 
between  Vega  and  Santiago,  worth  forty  dollars ;  and 
around  the  doorways  of  these  miserable  hovels  are 
crouched  most  miserable  natives,  the  color  of  the  mud 


332  IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

that  so  plentifully  bedaubs  them.  In  the  midst  of 
plenty  they  are  poor,  and  always  on  the  verge  of  star- 
vation. I  was  overtaken  on  the  road  by  a  boy  who 
really  looked  half-starved,  and  who  whiningly  begged 
for  a  small  coin.  Not  having  one  about  me,  I  told  him 
to  await  my  return ;  and  three  days  later,  coming  back, 
he  was  there  in  wait  for  me,  looking  hungrier  than  ever. 

Reaching  Santiago  late  in  the  afternoon,  I  paddled 
through  its  dismal  streets  in  search  of  a  hotel,  drenched, 
and  muddy  to  the  chin,  and  after  having  been  rained 
upon  during  the  entire  trip  of  over  six  hours.  The 
regular  hostelry  was  full,  and  I  found  shelter  in  an 
unfinished  building  on  the  plaza. 

Santiago  de  los  Caballeros,the  chief  city  of  the  Cibao, 
or  interior  of  Santo  Domingo,  was  founded  in  1504,  by 
thirty  caballcros,  who  obtained  from  the  king  of  Spain 
permission  to  use  the  term  above  cited  as  the  distin- 
guishing appellation.  Although  it  has  been  several 
times  destroyed — first  by  the  buccaneers,  then  by  the 
Haitiens,  and  lastly  by  revolutionists  —  and  has  suffered 
from  earthquakes,  yet  it  is  to-day  a  bright  and  flourish- 
ing city,  the  head  of  the  province,  which  contains  some 
forty  thousand  inhabitants.  It  has  three  churches,  a 
fine  plaza,  a  large  cemetery,  and  is  situated  directly 
above  the  river  Yaqui,  on  a  commanding  bluff. 

As  the  center  of  trade  for  all  the  Cibao,  Santiago  con- 
trols all  this  vast  interior  traffic,  the  only  outlet  to  the 
coast  being  by  the  way  of  La  Vega  and  Puerto  Plata. 
Two  railroads  are  trending  hither  from  the  coast:  one 
starting  at  Puerto  Plata,  and  the  other  the  road  from 
Samana  Bay,  with  its  present  terminus   at  La  Vega, 


THE   EARTHQUAKE-BURIED   TOWNS. 


333 


about  twenty  miles  away.  There  is  not  traffic  enough, 
either  present  or  prospective,  for  more  than  one  road, 
though  it  is  quite  certain  that  at  least  one  is  necessary, 
and  will  eventually  reach  this  important  place. 

My  arrival  had  been  heralded,  and  the  evening  paper, 
El  Dia,    announced    that   the    Commissioner    for   the 


THE    CEMETERY    AT    SANTIAGO. 


Exposition  had  arrived,  and  that  a  party  of  gentlemen, 
the  chief  citizens  of  the  place,  would  meet  him  that 
evening,  at  the  house  of  Senor  Jesus  Mercado. 

We  met  and  discussed  the  prospects  for  an  exhibit 
from  the  Cibao,  and,  after  the  discussion,  we  were  enter- 
tained delightfully  by  the  noble  host.     That  was  in  July 


334  IN   THE   WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

of  1 89 1.  Upon  my  return  the  next  summer,  I  was 
grieved  to  learn  that  Seiior  Mercado  had  been  sus- 
pected of  conspiring  against  the  Government,  and  was 
then  languishing  in  the  castle  at  the  capital.  Several 
other  distinguished  citizens  were  also  keeping  him  com- 
pany, and  a  feeling  of  great  uneasiness  prevailed,  for 
it  was  not  known  who  would  be  the  next  victim  of  the 
Dictator's  suspicions.  But  I  received  the  assurances 
of  these  gentlemen  that  I  possessed  their  sympathies, 
and  that  all  possible  would  be  done  to  give  the  region 
a  representation. 

The  one  most  interested  in  the  work,  and  the  one  who 
gave  substantial  proofs  of  his  interest,  was  Senor  Hun- 
gria,  the  editor  of  the  largest  paper,  El  Eco  del  Pueblo. 
He  not  only  presented  me  with  articles  of  historic  in- 
terest for  the  Exposition,  but  accompanied  me,  on  my 
second  visit,  to  the  site  of  the  second  fortress  erected  in 
the  gold  region. 

I  was  also  introduced  to  a  strange  character,  a  gentle- 
man of  leisure,  Sehor  Don  Antonio  Alix,  known  through- 
out the  Cibao  as  the  "  Poet  of  the  Sierras."  He  had  a 
family  of  charming  daughters,  a  wife  devoted  to  him, 
and  a  muse  who  was  always  ready  for  a  romp  or  a  frolic 
in  the  fields  of  poesy;  so  what  more  could  the  heart  of 
man  desire? 

Mounting  his  horse,  the  poet  insisted  on  going  with  me 
to  visit  the  ruins  of  old  Jacagua,  a  league  or  two  distant 
from  the  city.  This  town  was  destroyed  by  an  earth- 
quake in  the  year  1564.  It  was  a  lovely  morning  on 
which  we  made  the  trip,  and  we  found  a  warm  welcome 
at  the  hands  of  the  proprietor  of  Jacagua,  Senor  Don 


THE   EARTHQUAKE-BURIED   TOWNS. 


335 


Ricardo  Ovies,  who  spoke  English  fluently,  and  who 
placed  the  whole  estate  at  my  disposition.  He  had 
accumulated  several  articles  of  value,  and  these  he  gave 
me  for  the  Exposition,  while  he  promised  to  have  the 
ruins  excavated  for  our  benefit.  This  promise  I  assisted 
him  to  fulfill,  and  on  my  return,  a  year  later,  left  a  sum 


SITE   OF   THE   OI.I)    CHURCH    AT   JACAGUA. 


of  money  for  the  purpose,  by  means  of  which  many 
valuable  relics  were  brought  to  light,  and  were  sent  to 
the  head  of  the  Department  at  Washington. 

Jacagua  was  a  flourishing  settlement  up  to  the  time 
of  the  earthquake,  when  the  people  removed  to  the  site 
of  the  present  Santiago.      It  was  founded  soon  after  the 


336 


IN   THE    WAKE   OF  COLUMBUS. 


great  battle  that  decided  the  fate  of  the  Indians  of  the 
Vega,  and  a  fort  was  built  here.  There  was  a  church, 
the  ruins  of  which  are  visible,  and  the  fine  spring 
which  is  still  flowing  was  the  reason,  probably,  for  the 
founding  of  the  settlement  here.      I  obtained  a  great 

number  of  relics  of  those 
ancient  times,  and  through 
the  good  offices  of  Sefior 
O vies, the  collections  from 
Santo     Domingo     were 
largely  augmented.     Our 
host  gave  us  a  delightful 
dinner,  including  delicious 
wine  of  native  fruits,  and 
preserves  of  his  good  wife's 
making;  he  has  since  re- 
peatedly proven  the  sin- 
cerity of    his 
proffers  by 
giving  us  the 
results  of  the 
excavations. 

The  poet 
found    and 


USED    BY    THE  EARLY    SPANIARDS 

(1.  Dominican  Cutlass.    2.  Old  Toledo  icith  Dominican 
hilt.    3.  "  Toledo  "  as  brought  over  by  a  conquistador.) 


gave   me    an 

ancient  spur,  called  an  acicatc,  and  also  an  old  Indian 
jug,  with  a  whistle  in  its  nose,  while  I  purchased  sev- 
eral of  the  old  Toledo  blades  for  which  the  section  is 
famous.  I  do  not  mean,  of  course,  that  they  are  manu- 
factured here,  but  that  veritable  Toledos  are  still  in 
the  possession  of  some  of  the  old  families,  having  de- 


THE    EARTHQUAKE-BURIED    TOWNS. 


337 


scended  to  them  from  the  conquistadores.  As  I  have 
mentioned,  the  settlement  was  made  by  gentlemen  of 
birth  and  breeding,  the  city  receiving  permission  from  the 
king  of  Spain  to  be  known  as  the  City  of  the  Gentlemen ; 
and  to-day  there  are  more  people  of  white  extraction 
here  than  in  any  other  town  in  the  island;  the  female 
types  of   pure  and  graded   blood    being   quite  pretty. 

I  have  in  my  possession 
one  of  these  old  Toledos, 
which  has  all  the  flexibility 
for  which  the  blades  were 
noted  in  the  time  of  the 
Moors,  and  which  has  been 
reset  into  a  very  quaint  and 
effective  hilt.  Some  of  those 
I  obtained  went  to  Chicago, 
and  doubtless  many  of  my 
readers  will  have  seen  those 

veritable  blades  with  which  the  half-barbaric  Spaniards 
pricked  and  prodded  the  inoffensive  Indians. 

There  is  no  more  interesting  spot  in  Santiago  than 
the  cemetery,  where  the  system  of  rental  of  graves  still 
prevails,  the  remains  being  turned  out  after  the  expira- 
tion of  time  of  lease.  I  saw  here  a  most  picturesque 
tomb  that  had  been  opened  for  that  purpose,  and  the 
skull  and  coffin  exposed. 

Below  the  city  runs  the  swift  and  turbulent  Yaqui, 
which  is  crossed  by  a  ferry  owned  and  operated  by  an 
American.  The  citadel  overlooks  the  city  and  river, 
and  a  glorious  view  of  the  country  around  is  spread  out 
before  the  observer. 


THE    WHISTLING   JUG. 


XVII. 


IN    SANTO    DOMINGO    CITY. 


RETURNING  from  the  interior  of  Santo  Domingo, 
I  resumed  my  voyage  around  the  island,  taking  a 
Clyde  steamer,  and  making  the  run  from  Samana  to  the 
capital  in  twenty- four  hours. 

Santo  Domingo  City  lies  west  of  south  from  the  head 
of  Samana  Bay.  It  can  be  reached  from  that  point 
either  by  an  overland  journey  on  horseback  of  two  or 
three  days,  depending  upon  the  state  of  the  trails,  or  by 
the  steamer  sailing  around  the  entire  eastern  end  of  the 
island. 

Santo  Domingo  is  the  oldest  city  of  European  founda- 
tion in  America.  It  possesses,  doubtless,  more  attrac- 
tions than  any  other  on  the  continent,  having  within  its 
walls  so  many  relics  of  those  early  years  of  our  history. 

The  town  was  founded  in  1496,  by  Bartholomew 
Columbus,  the  intrepid  brother  of  the  Admiral ;  roman- 
tic interest  and  historic  associations  thickly  cluster 
around  it,  and  it  is  intimately  identified  with  the  career 
of  Columbus  himself. 

Miguel  Diaz,  a  Spanish  soldier,  fleeing  from  the  pun- 
ishment he  had  incurred  by  wounding  a   companion, 

338 


IN    SANTO    DOMINGO    CITY. 


339 


wandered  through  the  woods  and  over  the  mountains 
from  Isabella  to  the  south  coast,  where  he  formed  an 
attachment  for  an  Indian  caciquess,  who  governed  the 
tribe  then  resident  along  the  banks  of  the  river  Ozama. 
The  native  queen  retained  him  with  her  for  a  time,  but 
seeing  that  he  longed  for  the  companionship  of  his  fel- 
low Spaniards,  and  learning  that  he  was  afraid  to  return 
to  them  without  something  with  which  to  propitiate  his 
commander,  and  that  nothing  would  be  so  acceptable  as 
gold,  she  informed  him  that  within  her  own  territory 


A    BAUTO    DOMINGO    SEA.POK1'    TOWN. 


was  an  abundance  of  the  precious  metal.  Diaz  was  con- 
ducted to  the  banks  of  the  river  Hayna,  not  far  distant, 
and  found  such  fine  specimens  that  he  ventured  to 
return  to  Isabella,  where  the  commander,  Bartholomew 
Columbus,  not  only  pardoned  him,  but  gave  him  offices 
of  trust,  and  soon  after  went  with  him  to  test  the  new 
deposits. 

They  were  found  to  be  so  rich  that  a  fortress  was  at 
once   erected  on  the  bank  of   the  river,  and  soon  the 


340  IN   THE   WAKE  OF   COLUMBUS. 

Aclelantado  went  around  by  sea  to  the  nearest  point  on 
the  south  coast,  and  there  founded  the  city  that  still 
bears  the  name  he  gave  it.  He  called  it  Santo  Do- 
mingo, and  also  after  his  father,  Dominico  Columbus, 
the  weaver  of  Genoa. 

The  soldier's  romance  did  not  end  here,  so  rumor 
tells  us,  for  Miguel  Diaz  remained  faithful  to  his  Indian 
wife. 

The  mines,  though  rich  at  first,  became  worked  out 
at  last,  though  even  at  the  present  time  gold  is  mined 
there,  by  means  of  improved  processes.  From  that 
region  some  immense  nuggets  were  obtained;  they 
were  famous  even  in  those  days  of  rich  findings,  one  of 
them  being  so  large  that  the  lucky  discoverers  used  it 
as  a  table,  serving  upon  it  a  roast  pig,  entire,  and 
boasting  that  never  yet  had  any  king  of  any  land  so 
rich  a  service  of  plate.  The  actual  finder  of  the  nug- 
get was  a  poor  Indian  girl,  but  her  masters,  of  course, 
appropriated  it,  and  neither  pig  nor  gold  did  she  get. 
In  fact,  no  one  appears  to  have  eventually  profited  by 
its  discovery,  for  the  great  nugget  went  to  the  bottom 
of  the  sea,  in  the  sinking  of  the  fleet  of  Bobadilla,  when 
twenty  sail  went  down  with  all  on  board,  off  Santo 
Domingo  in  a  hurricane. 

On  the  eastern  bank  of  the  beautiful  Ozama,  Don 
Bartholomew  erected  his  fort,  and  here  first  a  settle- 
ment was  commenced.  It  flourished  a  while,  but  was 
destroyed  by  a  hurricane  in  the  year  1502.  Seeing 
then  the  superior  advantages  of  the  west  bank  of  the 
river,  the  settlers  removed  thither,  and  the  present  city 
was  begun,  walls  being  built  around  it  later,  and  about 


IN    SANTO    DOMINGO    CITY.  343 

the  year  1509  the  great  tower,  or  castle,  called  the 
"  Homenage. " 

This  fine  castle,  the  oldest  in  America,  and  one  of 
the  best  specimens  extant  of  the  architecture  of  those 
times,  stands  in  a  commanding  position  at  the  mouth  of 
the  river,  upon  the  right  bank,  rising  grandly  above  a 
high  cliff  of  coralline  rock,  wave-worn  and  cavernous. 
Extremely  picturesque  in  itself,  its  position  greatly  en- 
hances the  effect,  and  it  is  well  worth  a  journey  thither 
to  study.  Around  it,  too,  tradition  and  history  have 
woven  a  tissue  of  fascinating  stories,  for  it  leads  us  back 
to  those  times  when  European  civilization  was  wrestling 
with  American  barbarism,  and  the  red  Indians,  now 
extinct,  were  in  possession  of  the  West  Indian  islands. 
The  story  oftenest  repeated,  however,  that  Columbus 
was  once  confined  a  prisoner  within  its  walls,  has  no 
foundation  in  fact.  The  event  of  his  imprisonment 
took  place  in  the  year  1500,  when  the  settlement  was  on 
the  east  bank  of  the  river,  and  he  was  confined  in  a  small 
tower  called  afterward,  from  this  event,  the  Torrecilla 
de  Colon.  This  tower  was  situated  at  the  extreme  point 
of  the  eastern  bank  of  the  river  as  it  reaches  the  ocean. 

I  myself  have  investigated  this  statement  and  the 
location,  and  have  the  support  of  the  local  authorities 
and  historians.  A  few  bricks  and  stones  are  the  on^ 
remains  of  the  torrecilla;  but  the  chapel,  at  the  entrance 
of  which  the  usurper,  Bobadilla,  read  the  proclamation 
that  announced  the  downfall  of  Columbus  and  his  own 
elevation  to  power,  is  still  standing,  though  in  a  half- 
ruined  state,  on  the  east  bank.  It  is  known  as  Rosario, 
and  pertains  to  a  large  sugar  estate  on  the  side  of  the 


344 


IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 


river  opposite  from  the  city,  a  conspicuous  and  beautiful 
plantation,  with  immense  cuisine,  and  all  the  equipment 
of  a  first-class  "  plant  "  for  sugar  refining. 

It  is  well  attested  that  the  great  tower,  the  Homenage, 
was  not  built  until,  or  near,  1509,  eight  or  nine  years 


THE   HOUSE   OF    COLUMBUI 


after  the  imprisonment  of  the  distinguished  explorer, 
and  consequently  could  not  have  held  him. 

The  most  noteworthy  object  that  attracts  the  atten- 
tion of  one  entering  the  Ozama  on  the  steamer,  lies  a 
little  beyond  the  castle  and  on  the  same  side  of  the 
river;  this  is  the  Casa  dc  Colon,  as  it  is  called,  or  the 
House  of  Columbus.  It  has,  like  the  castle,  no  connec- 
tion with  the  great  possessor  of  the  name,  except  through 
his  son  Diego,  who,  succeeding  to  the  titles  and  powers 
granted  by  the  sovereigns  of  Spain  to  his  distinguished 


IN   SANTO   DOMINGO   CITY.  345 

father,  came  to  Santo  Domingo  in  the  year  1509,  and 
began  the  erection  of  a  palace. 

Having  achieved  distinction  by  his  marriage  with 
Dona  M aria  de  Toledo,  niece  to  the  famous  Duke  of 
Alva,  and  arrogating  the  title  of  Viceroy  of  the  colonies 
in  America,  Don  Diego  began  his  career  in  great  splen- 
dor, and'  surrounded  himself  with  all  the  dignities  of  a 
royal  court.  He  erected  on  the  bank  of  the  Ozama 
a  magnificent  palace,  fortified  and  defended  with  walls 
and  cannon,  and  carried  his  pretensions  to  such  an  ex- 
tent that  the  king  became  alarmed  and  recalled  him 
to  Spain  to  give  account  of  his  proceedings. 

Beneath  the  bank,  a  short  distance  from  the  castle, 
the  Syndic  of  the  Ayuntamicnto,  or  city  council,  once 
pointed  out  to  me  an  old  cannon,  half-embedded  in  the 
sands,  which  tradition  indicated  as  one  that  the  city 
fathers  of  the  time  of  Diego's^reign  had  mounted  and 
trained  upon  the  palace,  to  bring  the  viceroy  to  terms. 
Upon  investigation,  this  story  was  found  to  have  sup- 
port in  local  history,  and,  through  the  kind  assistance 
of  the  Syndic,  I  secured  this  ancient  piece  of  ordnance 
for  exhibition  at  Chicago,  where  it  was  sent.  It  was  a 
very  heavy  cannon,  and  one  of  the  river  barges  was  sunk 
in  the  attempt  to  ship  it  on  the  steamer. 

The  fortified  residence  built  by  Don  Diego  rises 
directly  above  the  wharf  at  which  the  steamer  lands  its 
passengers.  It  is  a  grand  and  gloomy  pile  of  gray 
stone,  roofless,  and  falling  to  decay;  its  pillared  corri- 
dors are  destroyed ;  its  lower  rooms  are  now  occupied 
as  stables  for  horses,  goats  and  donkeys;  squalid  huts 
of  palm-wood  lean  against  its  walls,  and   filth   almost 


346 


IN   THE   WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 


indescribable  prevents  the  visitor  from  an  investigation 
of  the  interior. 

The  city  of  Santo  Domingo  is  walled,  and  still  retains 
intact  many  fortified  battlements,  which  were  erected 

three  hundred  and 
eighty  years  ago,  with 
numerous  fine  sentry- 
boxes,  and  fortalczas, 
especially  such  as 
those  of  ' '  San  Anton  " 
and  "Santa  Barbara, " 
directly  behind  the 
churches  of  the  same 
name.  A  walk  around 
the  walls  will  well  re- 
pay the  exertion;  for 
though  they  have 
stood  nearly  four  hun- 
dred 3'ears,  they  are 
yet  firm  and  strong, 
the  sun-dial  to  be  seex  in  santo  domingo.  though  inmanyplaces 

they  are  now  being 
torn  down  to  allow  the  city  to  spread  out  and  beyond, 
as  in  Havana. 

The  present  city  is  crouched  beneath  the  walls  and 
within  the  ruins  of  the  past.  Against  the  massive  walls 
of  neglected  convents,  that  once  sheltered  learned  and 
holy  men,  lean  the  worthless  shanties  of  a  despicable 
people,  who  even  huddle  in  holes  hollowed  out  of  the 
walls  themselves.  Entering  the  city  through  a  great 
gateway  in  the  walls,  you  are  brought  face  to  face  with 


rr^SB*&&i~!*(. 


IN    SANTO    DOMINGO   CITY.  347 

the  dirt  and  squalor  of  the  place;  with  its  horrible 
streets,  its  broken  and  dangerous  sidewalks,  and  its 
languid  inhabitants.  You  will  find  a  shoemaker,  or 
tailor,  or  vender  of  groceries,  occupying  a  small  room 
in  a  building  originally  intended  for  a  palace,  the  re- 
mainder of  which  is  vacant  and  falling  to  pieces.  In 
every  imaginable  corner  and  crevice,  under  the  arches 
by  the  city  gate,  and  'lurking  in  the  corridors  of  once 
great  mansions,  the  people  dwell  by  day  and  sleep  by 
night. 

Not  all  the  structures  of  the  city  are  of  the  mean 
character  of  those  around  the  walls,  for  several  of  the 
streets  are  lined  with  buildings  that  will  compare  favor- 
ably with  some  in  Cuba,  and  are  of  the  same  Spanish 
style  of  architecture.  Around  the  central  plaza  are 
the  Government  buildings,  the  city  hall,  and  the  cathe- 
dral. These  are  all  excellent  structures,  and  there  are 
some  scattered  through  the  city  that  show  evidences  of 
wealth  and  attempts  at  adornment 

As  the  ancient  buildings  show  us  the  architecture  of 
Spain  in  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries,  so 
the  modern  houses  are  modeled  after  Spanish  struct- 
ures of  the  present  time.  Not  so  many  have  the  inner 
courts,  or  patios,  as  in  Mexico  and  Cuba,  but  all  are 
massively  built,  with  thick  stone  walls,  heavy  beams 
supporting  tiled  roofs  and  floors,  grated  windows,  ornate 
balconies  in  the  second  stories,  and  long  flaring  water- 
spouts at  the  eaves,  like  batteries  of  guns;  while  heavy 
doors  protect  the  entrances  to  the  lower  floors.  In  fact, 
viewing  the  houses  along  the  streets  of  the  city,  and 
noting  the  unmistakably  Spanish  air  of  mingled  decay 


348  IN    THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

and  smartness  about  them,  one  might  imagine  himself 
in  certain  towns  in  Southern  Spain. 

Of  the  twelve  or  thirteen  thousand  inhabitants  of  this 
city,  a  very  small  number  are  white,  most  of  them  hav- 
ing African  blood  in  their  veins  in  greater  or  less  pro- 
portion. The  people  are  pleasant,  alert,  courteous,  with 
all  the  Spanish  and  tropical  vivacity  of  speech  and  gest- 
ure, as  well  as  the  indolence  and  love  of  pleasures. 

Visiting  the  capital  as  the  accredited  representative 
of  the  Exposition,  and  having  met  the  President  at 
Puerto  Plata  some  weeks  earlier  I  was  at  once  in- 
troduced to  the  best  the  city  held,  and  every  facility 
afforded  for  an  examination  of  whatever  of  interest  it 
contained.  Our  consular  representative,  Mr.  Durham, 
was  then  absent  on  leave,  but  the  courteous  vice-consul, 
Mr.  Juan  Reed,  a  resident  of  the  capital,  but  who  spoke 
English  like  a  native  of  the  States,  gave  me  the  consular 
residence  for  occupation,  and  arranged  with  a  small 
restaurant  for  my  meals,  so  that  I  was  at  once  installed 
and  ready  for  business.  The  consulate  was  one  of  the 
old  houses  with  thick  walls  and  a  balcony,  one  room  on 
the  ground  floor  and  two  above,  that  lined  the  principal 
street.  I  had  complete  possession,  and  at  night  no  one 
but  myself  occupied  the  house — a  small  boy  coming 
every  morning  to  open  the  office,  and  a  colored  woman 
to  take  care  of  the  rooms. 

Living  quietly  in  the  consulate,  in  sole  occupancy,  I 
had  time  and  opportunity  to  study  the  history  of  the 
island  in  the  intervals  of  my  official  duties,  and  of 
becoming  acquainted  with  the  ruined  structures  within 
the  citv  walls.      Morning  and  evening,  sallving  out  in 


IN    SANTO   DOMINGO   CITY. 


349 


COLUMBUS    IN    CHAINS. 


search  of  information,  I  gathered  up  the  scattered 
threads  of  history,  and  found  out  just  how  much  had 
been  lost  during  the  various  revolutions  and  invasions 
through  the  past  three  centuries. 

Of  manuscripts  and  minor  objects  of  antiquity,  there 
are  hardly  any  remaining,  and  their  loss  is  ascribed  to 
the  invasions  of  the  Haitians,  and  to  the  ravages  of  the 
buccaneers  of  the  seventeenth  century.  Sir  Francis 
Drake  (whom  they  style  "  el pirata  Draakec  ")  comes  in 


350  IN    THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

for  the  chief  share  of  the  blame,  for  he  sacked  the  city 
and  destroyed  everything  he  could  lay  his  piratical 
hands  upon.  After  vigilant  search,  I  could  find  nothing 
more  ancient  in  manuscripts  than  the  Baptismal  Book 
in  the  cathedral,  dated  15  91.  But  few  traditions  did  I 
discover  that  had  not  already  been  given  to  the  world 
in  general  or  in  local  histories.  Not  even  of  the  great 
Las  Casas,  who  once  resided  here,  nor  of  Alonzo  de 
Ojeda,  nor  Diego  Colon. 

I  tried  everywhere  to  procure  antiquities,  as  well  of 
the  Indian  days  as  of  the  early  Spanish  times;  but  I 
had  not  much  success ;  an  old  cannon  or  two,  an  Indian 
drum,  an  ancient  "Toledo,"  a  few  clay  figulines,  a 
canoe  and  other  articles  of  this  class,  were  the  best  I 
could  do. 

The  best  collection  of  Indian  antiquities  is  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  archbishop,  Monsenor  Merino;  but  there 
is  no  local  museum,  nor  any  scientific  society  interested 
in  the  fascinating  field  for  study  afforded  here  at  their 
very  doors.  No  one  appreciates  the  relics  of  the  abori- 
gines at  their  full  value,  but  when  any  attempt  is  made 
to  procure  them  for  study  or  exhibition,  the  owners  at 
once  attach  a  fictitious  and  prohibitory  value,  as  always 
happens  where  ignorance  prevails  regarding  objects  of 
ethnical  or  archaeological  interest. 

Santo  Domingo's  chief  claim  to  distinction  lies  in  its 
connection  with  Columbus  and  the  coiiquistadores,  and 
the  principal  reminders  of  their  times  are  the  few  struct- 
ures remaining  of  their  construction. 

The  center  of  attraction  is,  of  course,  the  cathedral, 
but  besides   this  there  are  at  least  ten  churches  and 


IN    SANTO   DOMINGO   CITY.  353 

convents  of  account  in  the  city.  The  largest  pile  of 
ruins  is  that  of  the  ancient  convent,  San  Francisco,  which 
stands  conspicuous  upon  a  hill  behind  the  Casa  de  Colon, 
and  about  which  cling  all  the  traditions  that  fascinate 
the  student  of  the  times  when  the  first  missionaries 
came  here  to  preach  and  to  convert  the  Indians  to  the 
Catholic  faith. 

But  a  small  portion  of  the  convent  is  habitable  now, 
and  that  is  used  as  an  asylum  for  the  insane.  About 
thirty  locos  are  now  immured  there,  in  a  wing  of  the 
vast  edifice  walled  off  from  the  ruins. 

Entrance  is  freely  granted  to  visitors,  and  one  may 
wander  at  will  through  the  deserted  corridors,  explore 
the  labyrinthine  mazes  of  the  roofless  cells,  and  seek  for 
the  burial-place  of  Ojeda,  the  lion-hearted  soldier  who 
lies  interred  at  the  walled-up  entrance,  and  of  Don 
Bartholomew  Columbus,  who  is  said  to  have  been  buried 
at  the  foot  of  the  great  altar.  Arches,  vine-draped  and 
of  magnificent  proportions,  towering  walls  with  a  forest 
of  trees  and  vines  growing  on  them  and  out  of  their 
crevices,  deep  holes  where  the  treasure-seekers  have 
dug  for  many  years  in  vain  —  all  these  you  may  see  in 
the  ruins  of  San  Francisco;  but  of  the  devoted  mission- 
aries who  dwelt  here,  and  who  built  the  immense  struct- 
ure of  which  the  crumbling  stones  alone  remain,  not  a 
trace  is  to  be  found.  Oblivion  has  claimed  them  all, 
save  for  their  brief  biographies  in  the  annals  of  the 
order  to  which  they  belonged.  There  is  said  to  exist 
a  subterranean  connection  with  another  house  of  the 
order  a  long  distance  away,  now  used  as  a  hotel,  and 
known  as  the  Casa  del  Cordon. 


354 


IN    THE   WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 


One  of  the  oldest  ruins  here  is  that  of  San  Nicolas, 
a  convent  church  founded  in  1509,  the  groined  canopy 
of  which,  above  the  presbytery,  is  very  beautiful,  but 
destined  soon  to  fall  to  pieces  from  decay. 

The  most  famous  of  the  convent  churches  is  that  of 
Santo    Domingo;    to  it  are  attached   the  walls  of   the 

first  university  founded  in 
America,  and  in  which  the 
celebrated  Las  Casas  min- 
istered. Deserted,  ruined, 
and  now  in  a  disgraceful 
state  of  neglect  and  filth, 
the  walls  of  this  first  of 
America's  institutions  of 
learning  are  a  standing 
reproach  to  the  people 
possessing  this  island. 
The  interior  of  the  church 
is  most  interesting,  having 
been  at  some  time  care- 
fully restored,  and  one 
should  by  all  means  ex- 
amine its  attractions.  The  pulpit  is  supported  upon 
a  serpent  carved  of  wood,  the  high  altar  is  simple  but 
chaste  in  the  carving  of  its  retable,  and  the  quaint  old 
tombstones  in  the  pavement  have  interesting  inscrip- 
tions. One,  I  recall,  attracted  my  attention  particularly 
from  having  carved  upon  it,  besides  an  inscription  with 
Scriptural  reference,  the  cscado,  or  coat  of  arms,  of  the 
family  to  which  it  pertained  —  a  shield  containing  thir- 
teen stars.      There  was,  of  course, no  connection  between 


INSCRIPTION    O.N    AN   OLD   TOMBSTONE. 

{Convent  Church.) 


IN   SANTO   DOMINGO   CITY.  355 

this  heraldic  device  and  the  symbols  we  sometimes  em- 
blazon upon  our  country's  flag;  but  it  brought  to  mind 
the  thirteen  original  States  of  our  Union,  which  were 
probably  first  grouped  about  the  time  the  remains 
beneath  this  stone  were  here  interred. 

A  very  beautiful  church  is  Santa  Barbara,  near  the 
river  walls;  it  is  old,  simple  in  decoration  inside,  but 
with  an  exterior  quaint  and  original.  Another  church, 
San  Miguel  on  the  hill,  was  built,  it  is  said,  by  the 
king's  treasurer,  three  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago;  it 
is  attractive,  though  small.  La  Merced  is  large  and 
gloomy,  and  resembles  Santo  Domingo,  while  Santa 
Clara  is  quite  handsome,  having  been  restored,  and 
a  favorite  with  the  ladies.  This  may  be  said  also  of 
the  Regina,  attached  to  which  is  a  flourishing  school, 
which  was  the  care  of  the  lamented  Father  Bellini. 
San  Anton  stands  alone,  and  is  only  a  shell  of  what  was 
once  a  splendid  church  with  fine  arches. 

Thus  I  might  go  on  at  further  length  enumerating  the 
attractions  here  for  the  artist  and  the  antiquarian,  and 
especially  the  ecclesiologist;  but  I  may,  perhaps,  have 
indicated  enough  to  show  that  the  old  city  is  not  devoid 
of  fascinations,  aside  from  its  interest  to  the  historian. 

Although  I  do  not  intend  to  make  this  volume  a  guide- 
book, and  certainly  cannot  follow  my  inclination  to 
thread  the  paths  of  history  that  are  constantly  tempting 
one  to  diverge  from  the  main  track  of  explorations,  yet 
I  cannot  refrain  from  indicating  to  one  who  may  follow 
in  my  footsteps,  the  principal  attractions  here.  Within 
the  walls  one  may  find  numerous  bits  that  will  recall 
old  Spain,  Algiers,  and  the  coast  of  Africa  at  Tangiers 


356 


IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 


and  Oran.  One  of  the  finest  doorways  is  that  of  the 
old  Mint,  an  excellent  work  in  stucco,  with  fine  and 
forcible  medallions  on  the  doorposts  and  lintels,  and  a 
beautiful  window  may  be  seen  in  an  old  house  near  the 
archbishop's  palace. 

The  most  famous  structure  in  the  capital  is  the  cath- 
edral, a  long,  low  rambling  edifice  occupying  one  side 


VIEW    OF    THE    CATHEDRAL    HIGH    ALTAI!    AND    1CKTABLE. 


of  the  plaza;  it  is  of  a  style  of  architecture  that  may  be 
called  composite,  but  peculiarly  its  own.  Externally  it 
is  not  particularly  attractive,  but  its  interior  is  worthy 
of  detailed  description,  and  I  am  going  to  ask  my  readers' 
attention  while  I  make  a  tour  of  the  chapels. 

Entering  by  the  great  west  doorway,  before  you  lies 


IN    SANTO   DOMINGO   CITY.  357 

a  nave  of  grand  proportions,  with  high  massive  pillars 
supporting  a  groined  ceiling.  Walking  down  to  the 
high  altar,  we  find  it  apparently  insignificant;  faced 
with  plates  of  silver  of  modern  and  poor  workmanship, 
and  with  the  customary  adornments.  Back  of  the  altar 
is  a  splendid  retable  of  richly  carved  and  gilded  wood, 
but  temporarily  hidden  by  an  immense  si  I  la  from  the 
old  coro,  which  was  taken  away  some  time  ago.  In 
front  of  the  retable,  and  at  the  right  of  the  altar  (facing 
the  nave),  are  the  two  vaults  from  which  the  two  "  re- 
mains "  of  Columbus  were  taken. 

The  first  side-altar  at  the  right  is  that  of  the  Santa 
Reliquia;  so  called  because  in  its  sanctuary,  closed  by 
three  locks,  it  contains  a  fragment  of  the  cross  of  La 
Vega  (mentioned  in  the  chapter  on  Santo  Cerro).  This 
precious  relic  is  set  in  gold  and  inclosed  in  a  silver 
casket,  and  is  shown  only  once  a  year.  Here  is  a  fine 
retable.  richly  gilded,  and  fortunately  unrestored.  The 
first  chapel  at  the  right  is  called  Las  Animas.  It  con- 
tains a  fine  painting  of  the  Sanctissima  Trinidad,  and 
it  has  a  privilcgio  from  Benedicto  XIV.,  of  the  year 
1729,  granting  to  anyone  here  celebrating  a  mass,  on 
any  day  of  the  year,  the  privilege  of  rescuing  a  soul 
from  purgatory.  Next  to  this  is  the  chapel  of  La 
Virgen  de  Dolores,  with  the  tomb  of  an  archbishop  who 
died  in  1858. 

Next  beyond  is  the  Puerta  de  Perdon,  or  Door  of 
Pardon,  so  called  because  an  escaping  criminal  who 
reached  this  doorway  would  be  safe.  Over  the  door  is  a 
tablet  informing  us  that  the  cathedral  was  finished  to 
this  point  in  the  year  1527,  and  through  the  doorway  is 


358  IN    THE    WAKE    OF   COLUMBUS. 

a  good  view  of  the  plaza,  and  the  statue  of  Columbus 
standing  there.  The  chapel  next  beyond  the  door  has 
a  tomb  in  it  of  the  date  1524,  a  gory  effigy  of  Christ, 
with  real  skull  and  cross-bones  beneath  it,  and  a  privi- 
legio  dated  1727. 

Two  unimportant  chapels  come  next;  the  sixth  one 
contains  a  painting  and  the  bones  of  a  saint.  The  ca- 
pilla  alta  gracia  has  a  retable  of  mahogany  and  two 
modern  tombs  of  Dominican  patriots;  opposite  this 
chapel,  beneath  the  nave,  lies  buried  the  celebrated  his- 
torian Oviedo.  The  last  chapel  is  known  as  that  of 
Jesus  Predicador,  and  beyond  it  is  the  great  west  door 
called  the  Puerta  de  San  Pedro,  with  a  statue  of  San 
Jose  on  the  right  and  one  of  San  Miguel  on  the  left. 
Turning  back  toward  the  altar  mayor,  we  find  first  the 
capilla  dc  Jesus  en  la  Coluvina,  in  which  is  an  image  of 
l.i  Scfwra  dc  Bucn  Succsos.  The  chapel  next  in  sequence 
contains  a  painting  said  to  have  been  brought  here  by 
Columbus,  and  presented  by  Isabella  and  Ferdinand. 
It  is  called  la  Virgen  de  Colon,  and  is  very  old,  cracked 
and  disfigured.  There  is  also  here  a  painting  ascribed 
to  a  pupil  of  Murillo. 

The  chapel  that  the  people  regard  with  peculiar  ven- 
eration is  the  next  in  order.  It  is  called  San  Francisco 
de  Paula,  and  contains  the  first  cross  erected  in  Santo 
Domingo,  in  the  year  15 14.  This  was  on  the  site  of  the 
cathedral,  which  was  begun  at  that  time,  but  not  finished 
until  1540.  The  cross  is  about  nine  feet  high,  and 
across  its  arms  is  an  inscription  setting  forth  the  fact 
that  it  was  planted  here  by  the  first  religious  men,  and 
the  date:     " Esta  cs  la  insignia primcra  que  sc planto  en 


IN   SANTO   DOMINGO   CITY. 


359 


el  centra  de  esta  catnpo para  dar  principio  a  este  magnijico 
templo,  cl  a  no  de  MDXIV. "  Wishing  to  secure  a  repre- 
sentation of  such  an  important  relic  at  the  Exposition, 
and  not  caring  to  ask  the  loan  of  the  cross  itself,  I  had 


THE   PORTAL   OF    THE    11UIT.  —  SANTO    DOMIXGO. 


a  duplicate  made  by  a  local  carpenter,  which  could  not 
be  distinguished  from  the  original.  Fortunately,  at  that 
time  an  old  building  attached  to  the  castle  was  being 
renovated,  and  the  governor  of  the  castle,  through  the 
intercession  of  our  Vice-Consul,  gave  me  two  old  beams 
of  mahogany,  of  the  exact  color  of  that  composing  the 


360  IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS 

cross.  These  beams  were  over  three  hundred  years 
old,  and,  as  mahogany  grows  darker  with  age,  they  had 
the  same  rich  hue  as  the  cross.  The  carpenter  worked 
most  faithfully,  and  did  credit  to  his  profession,  so  that 
the  duplicate  was  pronounced  by  the  admiring  natives  to 
be  the  equal  in  every  respect  of  the  original.  A  native 
artist  painted  the  inscription  across  the  arms,  and  when 
dry,  the  cross  was  carefully  wrapped  in  bagging  and 
shipped  to  Washington,  where  it  safely  arrived  and  was 
sent  on  to  the  convent  of  La  Rabida  at  the  Exposition. 

This,  the  first  cross  erected  in  the  city,  has  been  con- 
founded with  another  and  more  famous  one,  which  was 
planted  on  the  hill  of  Santo  Cerro,  in  the  interior,  and 
fragments  of  which  are  preserved  as  holy  souvenirs  in 
the  cathedral  and  all  the  chief  churches  of  the  island. 
The  latter  cross,  however,  was  set  up  about  the  year 
1494  or  1495,  nearly  twenty  years  previous  to  this  of  the 
cathedral,  and  is  venerated  on  account  of  its  connection 
with  an  apparition  of  the  Holy  Virgin  —  as  related  in 
the  description  of  Santo  Cerro. 

The  eleventh  chapel,  in  the  order  in  which  we  have 
taken  them,  is  that  of  the  Sanctissima  Sacramento,  and 
in  it  are  portraits  of  the  twelve  apostles,  ascribed  to  the 
great  Spanish  artist  Velasquez.  High  above  the  altar 
is  a  Virgin,  said  to  be  by  Murillo,  but  perhaps  a  copy, 
and  if  so  a  good  one.  Regarding  the  authenticity  of 
these  pictures,  the  Archbishop  expressed  some  doubt, 
but  said  that  there  was  much  in  favor  of  their  genuine- 
ness. But  I  present  them  without  comment,  at  the  same 
time  believing  it  very  probable  that  they  are  genuine, 
for  there  is  no  motive  for  deceit,  and  they  have  all  the 


IN   SANTO    DOMINGO   CITY.  361 

appearance  of  the  pictures  by  the  same  artist,  which  I 
myself  have  seen  in  the  museums  and  churches  of  Spain, 

The  sagrario  of  this  chapel  is  of  silver,  and  contains 
a  figure  of  Christ,  well  carved  from  the  horn  of  a  deer. 
In  the  pavement  is  a  tombstone  over  ten  feet  long,  with 
a  magnificent  cscudo:  casque  and  helm  with  flowing 
plumes;  date  155 1.  Adjoining,  is  the  Piterta  de  Bau- 
tis?/?o(~DooT  of  Baptism),  with  beautiful  figures  above  it 
modeled  in  plaster.  The  capilla  de  Bautismo  succeeds, 
with  a  fine  retable  and  paintings,  but  the  last  and  largest 
is  the  capilla  del  Adelantado  Rodrigo  de  Bastidcs,  who, 
a  one-time  commander  in  Santo  Domingo,  now  lies  in- 
terred here,  with  his  wife  and  child,  as  attested  by  a 
quaint  inscription  on  the  wall.  This  chapel  is  extremely 
fine  and  old,  with  domed  ceiling,  and  the  azulcjos,  or 
Moorish  tiles,  are  the  most  beautiful  I  have  seen  here. 

There  is  a  tomb  of  an  early  archbishop  here,  with  his 
figure,  jaccnt,  sculptured  in  marble.  Back  of  this  tomb 
is  a  small  cell,  in  which  at  present  are  held  the  alleged 
remains  of  Columbus.  The  two-leaved  door  of  this  cell 
is  so  fine  that  I  had  it  reproduced  in  plaster  and  sent  to 
the  Exposition  as  an  example  of  the  wood-carving  of  the 
time  it  was  made.  At  the  left  of  the  chapel  is  the  altar 
"Ave  Maria,"  facing  the  nave,  with  a  gilded  retable 
and  excellent  painting  of  Ave  Maria,  flanked  by  the 
kneeling  figures  of  King  Ferdinand  and  Queen  Isabella, 
similar  to  those  in  the  royal  chapel  at  Granada,  in  Spain. 
Back  of  this  altar  is  the  vault  from  which  the  remains 
of  Don  Luis  Colon  were  taken,  on  the  side  of  the  chan- 
cel opposite  to  that  from  which  the  ashes  of  the  great 
Admiral  were  removed. 


362 


IN   THE    WAKE  OF   COLUMBUS. 


Thus  having  again  reached  the  presbytery,  we  have 
made  the  tour  of  the  cathedral  and  have  noted  every- 
thing in  it,  nearly,  except  the  remains  of  the  immortal 
Colon,  which  I  shall  reserve  for  another  chapter.  I 
trust  it  will  appear  that  the  cathedral  is  worthy  the 
minute  description  I  have  given,  and  that  the  long 
journey  has  not  been  wearisome. 


THE    llo.MENAJE. 


XVIII. 

WHERE    IS    THE    TOMB    OF    COLUMBUS? 

IN  the  center  of  the  plaza  of  Santo  Domingo  City, 
opposite  the  great  door  of  the  cathedral,  stands  a 
heroic  figure  in  bronze  of  Christopher  Columbus.  It  is 
dignified,  commanding,  impressive,  and  points  with  one 
extended  hand  toward  the  West,  as  though  indicating 
to  Europe  the  region  of  his  discoveries. 

At  the  feet  of  the  statue  crouches  the  Indian  Anaca- 
ona,  an  aboriginal  queen,  whose  subjects  were  massacred 
by  the  companions  of  this  same  Columbus,  and  who  was 
burned  at  the  stake  by  one  of  his  Spanish  successors. 
Yet,  with  an  irony  born  of  ignorance  of  historical  facts, 
the  artist  has  represented  this  unfortunate  princess  as 
tracing  an  inscription  in  praise  of  one  who,  more  than  all 
others,  aided  in  bringing  about  the  extinction  of  her  race. 
The  irony  of  truth,  indeed ;  at  one  stroke  presenting  the 
character  of  one  whose  exalted  sentiments  were  often 
at  variance  with  his  deeds. 

The  life  of  Columbus  shows  him  to  have  had  a  dual 
nature:  two  towns  claim  the  honor  of  his  birthplace; 
two  nations  hold  the  luster  of  his  deeds  in  reverence ; 
two  continents  unite  in  laudation  of  his  greatness ;  after 

363 


364  IN   THE    WAKE   OF  COLUMBUS. 

his  death  two  convents  in  Spain  held  his  remains  in 
charge,  and  now  two  islands  lay  claim  to  the  absolute 
possession  of  his  ashes. 

One  of  the  features  of  my  mission  to  the  West  Indies, 
as  Commissioner  of  the  Columbian  Exposition,  was  to 
resolve  this  doubt  concerning  the  present  burial-place 
of  Columbus. 

The  great  Admiral  died  on  the  twentieth  of  May, 
1506,  in  the  city  of  Valladolid,  in  Spain,  and  his  mortal 
remains  were  deposited  in  the  convent  church  of  the 
Franciscans. 

The  last  rites  were  celebrated  with  great  pomp  and 
ceremony  in  the  church  of  Santa  Maria  la  Antigua. 
But  a  few  years  later  the  body  was  given  sepulture  in 
the  Cartuja  of  Santa  Maria  de  las  Cuevas,  in  the  city  of 
Seville.  ' '  It  would  seem, "  says  the  Spanish  academician 
who  investigated  the  subject,  "that  the  interment  at 
Valladolid  was  an  act  of  piety,  merely,  accorded  at  the 
time;  but  that  in  las  Cuevas  was  in  accordance  with 
the  expressed  wish  of  the  Admiral  or  his  relatives. "  In 
the  same  convent,  some  years  later,  were  deposited  the 
remains  of  Diego,  his  son. 

The  second  removal  of  the  body  of  Columbus  had  for 
its  object  the  perpetual  sepulture  of  his  remains  in  the 
island  of  Espanola  and  the  city  of  Santo  Domingo.  It 
was  made  in  accordance  with  the  petition  of  Doha  Maria 
de  Toledo,  widow  of  Don  Diego,  who  stated  that  it  was 
the  expressed  desire  of  the  Admiral  himself  ;  and  in  con- 
sequence a  royal  cedilla  to  that  effect  was  issued  by  the 
Emperor,  Charles  V.,  giving  the  requisite  authority  to 
the  grandson  of  Columbus,  Don  Luis  Colon.     Permission 


ONE   OF   THE    DISPUTED    BIRTHPLACES. 

(Home  in  Cogoletto  in  which  it  is  claimed  Columbus  was  born.) 


WHERE   IS   THE   TOMB   OF   COLUMBUS?  367 

was  given  to  the  family  of  Colon  to  occupy  forever  the 
great  chapel  {capilla  mayor)  of  the  cathedral  of  Santo 
Domingo;  and  this  donation  by  Charles  V.  of  the  chapel 
as  a  place  of  interment,  converted  that  part  of  the  pres- 
bytery into  private  property,  and  no  one  unauthorized 
by  them  had  any  right  to  remove  or  efface  even  an 
inscription. 

There  is  no  record  of  the  transfer  of  the  remains  from 
Seville  to  Santo  Domingo ;  but  the  probable  date  was 
about  1540,  as  the  first  $ednla  giving  the  use  of  the 
chapel  was  issued  in  1537  ;  a  second, confirming  the  first, 
was  issued  in  1539,  and  a  third,  confirming  the  second, in 
1540.  It  is  thought  that  there  was  some  delay  in  grant- 
ing sepulture  in  the  cathedral,  after  the  arrival  of  the 
remains;  but  that  they  were  deposited  there  finally, 
concurrent  evidence  proves.  In  1549,  for  instance,  the 
first  archbishop  of  that  diocese  writes:  "The  tomb  of 
Don  Cristobal  Colon,  where  are  his  bones,  is  much  ven- 
erated in  this  cathedral."  The  historian  Herrera  says: 
"  From  the  Cuevas  of  Seville  the  bones  of  Columbus 
were  removed  to  the  city  of  Santo  Domingo,  and  are  in 
the  great  chapel  of  the  cathedral;"  and  agreeing  with 
him  are  the  historians  Alcedo,  Navarette,  and  Washing- 
ton Irving. 

But  although  it  would  seem  probable  that  some 
record  should  exist  in  the  archives  of  the  cathedral 
itself,  it  is  not  known  that  any  has  ever  been  discovered. 
The  total  absence  of  all  early  manuscript  is  attributed 
to  the  ravages  of  the  pirate  Drake,  who  was  such  a  ter- 
ror to  the  Spanish  West  Indies,  and  who  sacked  the 
city;  embedded  in  the  roof  of  the  cathedral  to-day  is  a 


368  IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

cannon-ball,  half-protruding  from  the  masonry,  which 
is  said  to  have  been  fired  from  a  gun  on  board  one  of 
Drake's  vessels.  Nor  is  there  any  tradition  of  records 
preserved  by  the  oldest  inhabitants  of  the  city,  derived 
from  their  ancestors,  or  from  people  who  lived  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  last  century.  It  cannot  be  shown, 
either,  that  there  was  ever  a  stone,  tablet,  or  monument, 
to  mark  the  place  of  interment;  and  this  seems  the 
more  strange  as  there  are  magnificent  memorials  of 
the  early  archbishops,  of  the  military  governor,  Rodrigo 
de  Bastides,  who  died  in  1527,  of  his  wife,  who  died 
in  1552,  and  others  of  that  century,  several  of  them 
contemporaries  of  Columbus. 

But  that  Columbus  was  interred  in  the  great  chapel 
of  the  cathedral,  there  is  no  room  for  doubt,  as  it  has 
been  proven  by  tradition  and  by  contemporary  evidence. 
Aside  from  the  testimony  already  cited,  we  have  also 
the  record  of  over  a  hundred  years  later,  that  when  the 
English  invaded  the  island  the  archbishop  ordered  the 
tombs  to  be  covered  with  earth,  to  prevent  their  dese- 
cration, "especially  that  of  the  old  Admiral,  which  is 
in  the  cvangelio  of  my  holy  church  and  chapel."  And 
when  the  church  was  nearly  ruined  by  an  earthquake, 
the  archbishop  mentioned  among  other  reasons  for  re- 
storing the  temple,  that  "in  the  capilla  mayor  is  interred 
the  illustrious  Don  Cristoval  Colon."  Again,  in  1683, 
the  diocesan  synod  of  Santo  Domingo  states :  "  The  bones 
of  C.  Colon  are  there  in  a  leaden  case,  in  the  presbytery 
according  to  the  tradition  of  the  old  inhabitants 
of  the  island." 

Just  a  hundred  years  later,  the  historian  Moreau  de 


BRONZE    STATUE   OF    COLUMBUS    BEFORE    THE    DOOB    OF    THE    CATHEDRAL    IN 
SANTO    DOMINGO    CITY. 


WHERE   IS   THE   TOMB   OF   COLUMBUS?  371 

St.  Mery,  states  that  the  dean  of  the  cathedral  affirmed 
that  there  was  a  box  of  lead,  inclosed  in  one  of  stone, 
which  tradition,  constant  and  unvarying,  pointed  to  as 
containing  the  bones  of  Columbus.  Thus  through  two 
hundred  years  we  have  accumulative  evidence  that 
the  last  mortal  remains  of  the  great  Admiral  rested  in 
the  cathedral  of  Santo  Domingo,  and  it  might  be  as- 
sumed that  in  the  course  of  human  events  they  would 
be  likely  to  remain  there  to  the  end  of  time,  had  not  an 
event  occurred  that  necessitated,  the  Spaniards  thought, 
their  removal. 

In  1795,  by  the  treaty  of  Basle,  Spain  ceded  to  France 
"the  cradle  of  her  greatness  in  the  New  World;"  but 
there  were  those  who  remembered  that  the  ashes  of 
Columbus  were  yet  in  Santo  Domingo,  and  felt  that  it 
would  be  unworthy  the  greatness  of  Spain  to  allow 
these  relics  of  the  man  who  had  made  her  first  among 
nations  to  pass  under  another  flag. 

The  delivery  of  the  colony  into  French  possession 
was  not  accomplished  until  1S01,  but  the  project  of 
transferring  the  ashes  of  America's  discoverer  was  exe- 
cuted in  1795.  As  already  remarked,  there  was  neither 
tombstone  nor  inscription,  nor  any  indication  whatever 
as  to  the  resting-place  of  the  remains;  there  was  not  a 
native  of  the  country  who  remembered  having  seen 
such,  nor  any  tradition  extant  directly  derived  from 
their  ancestors.  Therefore  the  Spaniards,  in  proceed- 
ing to  the  examination,  had  to  be  guided  solely  by  tra- 
ditions of  the  ecclesiastical  authorities  of  the  cathedral, 
and  residents  of  the  capital. 

And    what  did    these    tell    them  ?     Simply  what  has 


372  IN   THE   WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

been  quoted  for  generations :  that  the  relics  of  Colum- 
bus had  been  deposited  in  the  cathedral,  on  the  gospel 
side  of  the  altar,  at  the  place  where  the  canopy  of  the 
archbishop  used  to  stand.  On  the  twentieth  of  Decem- 
ber, 1795,  a  group  of  distinguished  gentlemen,  including 
commissioners  deputed  by  the  Duke  of  Veragua,  the 
lineal  descendant  of  the  Admiral,  opened  a  vault  above 
the  presbytery  on  the  gospel  side  of  the  altar,  which 
was  a  yard  in  depth  and  breadth.  According  to  the 
report  signed  by  the  clerk  of  the  Royal  Court  of  Justice 
of  Santo  Domingo,  there  were  found  therein  some  plates 
of  lead  about  a  foot  long,  bearing  evidence  of  having 
been  part  of  a  box  or  casket  of  that  metal,  and  some 
fragments  of  bones  and  dust.  These  were  gathered  to- 
gether on  a  plate,  and  afterward  placed  in  a  leaden  box, 
and  with  great  solemnity  taken  on  board  the  man-of- 
war  San  Lorenzo,  on  which  they  were  transported  to 
Cuba.  Arrived  at  Havana,  the  revered  relics  were 
borne  in  procession  to  the  cathedral,  and  there  deposited 
in  a  niche  opened  in  the  wall  of  the  presbytery,  on  the 
evangelist  side,  and  the  spot  designated  by  a  marble 
slab,  with  a  bust  and  elegant  Latin  inscription,  bearing 
date  1796. 

Thus  far  I  have  followed  the  Informe  of  the  Royal 
Academy  of  Spain,  which  exhaustively  investigated  the 
subject  of  the  last  resting-place  in  1879,  and  the  mem- 
bers of  which  were  of  the  opinion  that  the  remains  of 
five  members,  at  least,  of  the  Columbus  family  were 
interred  in  the  presbytery  of  the  cathedral,  namely: 
Christopher,  Diego  his  son,  Bartholomew  his  brother, 
Luis  his  grandson,  and  Cristobal  the  second  grandson. 


WHERE   IS   THE   TOMB   OF   COLUMBUS? 


373 


In  the  year  1877,  while  repairs  were  being-  made  in 
the  chancel  of  the  cathedral  of  Santo  Domingo,  a  vault 
was  discovered  on  the  left  side  (facing  the  nave)  contain- 
ing a  small  box  of  lead  that  fell  to  pieces  on  removal, 


'-WH 


THE    COLUMBUS    VAULTS   IN    SANTO    DOMINGO    CATHEDRAL. 

(/.    Vault  from  which  ashes  were  removed,  1795.     //.    Vault  opened  in  1877.) 

but  which  had  an  inscription  that  read:  "  El  Almirante, 
D.  Luis  Colon,  Duque  de  Veragua,  Marques  de  "  —  (pre- 
sumably of  Jamaica). 

It  was  not  known  that  the  grandson  of  Columbus  had 
been  interred  here  —  but  this  was  indubitable  evidence ; 
it  revived  the  tradition  that  his  grandfather  was  buried 
on  the  opposite  side,  and  it  was  decided  by  the  bishop 


374  IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

to  search  the  alleged  resting-place  of  the  bones  of  the 
Admiral  while  the  repairs  were  progressing. 

After  a  preliminary  excavation,  the  investigators 
opened  the  spot  indicated  by  tradition  as  that  from  which 
the  remains  transported  to  Havana  had  been  taken ;  a 
.small  vault  was  brought  to  light,  which  was  entirely 
empty.  This,  without  doubt,  was  the  vault  from  which 
the  ashes  taken  away  in  1795  had  been  removed,  and 
Canon  Bellini,  in  charge  of  the  investigation,  believed 
that  this  would  only  tend  to  prove  the  truth  of  the 
Spanish  account.  But  the  next  day  the  space  between 
this  empty  vault  and  the  wall  of  the  cathedral  was 
sounded,  and  some  indications  of  another  tomb  were 
discovered.  A  piece  of  a  large  stone  slab  that  had 
been  partly  revealed,  was  broken  off,  and  through  this 
opening  it  was  seen  that  there  was  indeed  a  vault,  and 
that  it  contained  an  object  which  appeared  like  a  square 
box. 

Instantly  all  was  excitement.  The  chief  vestryman 
hastened  at  once  to  inform  the  archbishop  of  what  had 
occurred,  while  the  foreign  consuls,  notably  the  Italian, 
M.  Cambiaso,  were  notified,  and  came  to  the  cathedral, 
where  the  canon  was  awaiting  them  with  the  workmen. 
The  men  were  working  under  the  direction  of  Sr.  J. 
M.  Castillo,  a  civil  engineer  who  had  charge  of  all  im- 
portant works  in  the  island,  and  with  whom  I  myself 
have  frequently  conversed.  Sr.  Castillo  died  in  1892, 
and  his  loss  has  been  severely  felt  in  Santo  Domingo, 
where  his  distinguished  talents  as  an  engineer  and  his 
genial  presence  were  highly  esteemed. 

The  canon  and  the  engineer  guarded  the  vault  until 


WHERE   IS   THE   TOMB    OF   COLUMBUS? 


375 


the  arrival  of  the  civic  and  ecclesiastical  dignitaries, 
when  in  their  presence  the  opening  was  enlarged,  and 
the  object  inside  revealed  to  be  a  box  of  lead,  resting 
upon  two  bricks.  The  top  was  covered  with  dust  and 
small  pieces  of  stone,  but  it  was  apparent  that  there 
was  an  inscription 
on  it.  Everything 
was  then  left  as 
found,  the  cathe- 
dral doors  locked, 
and  a  guard  placed 
around  them,  the 
keys  being  left  in 
the  possession  of 
Canon  Bellini. 

On  the  tenth  of 
September  the  box 
was  taken  out,  in 
the  presence  of  the 
civil,  ecclesiastical 
and  military  author- 
ities of  the  capital, 
of  the  consular 
corps,  and  a  great 
number   of  natives 

and  foreigners.  Only  a  superficial  examination  of  the 
bones  could  be  made  at  that  time,  but  it  seemed  pat- 
ent to  everybody  present  that  at  last  the  veritable  re- 
mains of  Columbus  had  been  brought  to  light,  and  no 
one  there  doubted. 

The  enthusiasm  manifested  by  the  people  bordered 


THE  COLUMBUS  CASKET. 

{End  View.) 


376 


IN    THE    WAKE    OF    COLUMBUS. 


cn  delirium,  and  so,  says  the  local  historian,  "If  it  be 
permitted  to  those  who  have  left  this  vale  of  tears  to 
enjoy  what  afterward  occurs  on  earth,  then  Columbus 
must  have  felt  unbounded  satisfaction,  almost  equal  to 
that  when  his  eyes  for  the  first  time  contemplated  the 
shores  of  America,  in  seeing  that  the  discovery  of  his 


h0^^i^^f^^' 


.'"flu 


k 


THE    COLUMBUS    CASKET. 

(Front  View.) 


remains,  forgotten     during    so   many    centuries,  caused 
such  deep  emotion  in  the  hearts  of  so  many  people." 

An  examination  of  the  contents  of  the  lead  case  re- 
vealed human  bones  crumbling  and  fragmentary,  and 
only  a  few  parts  of  the  skeleton  complete,  the  skull 
entirely  reduced  to  dust;  even  those  bones  appearing 
entire    at   the    discovery  were   found    to   have    rapidly 


WHERE   IS   THE   TOMB   OF   COLUMBUS?  377 

decomposed  at  an  examination  some  six  months  later. 
Besides  the  bones  and  dust,  a  bullet  was  found  in  the 
case,  and  a  silver  plate. 

The  box  in  which  the  remains  were  found  is  entirely 
of  lead,  and  when  closed  is  twenty-three  centimeters 
high,  forty-four  long,  and  twenty-one  wide.  The  lid  is 
forty-four  centimeters  long  and  twenty-one  wide,  with 
an  overlapping  edge  in  front  and  on  the  sides,  and  like 
the  box  is  made  of  a  single  sheet  of  lead.  The  box  is 
in  a  good  state  o£  preservation,  and  it  is  impossible  to 
state  whether  it  had  been  buried  one,  two,  or  three 
hundred  years,  as  it  is  well  known  that  lead  after  long 
exposure  becomes  covered  with  a  thin  coating  of  pro- 
toxide, which  preserves  it  for  centuries  without  other 
alteration.  The  color  is  dark  gray,  or  of  oxide  of  lead, 
such  as  would  naturally  result  from  the  exposure.  As 
to  its  preservation :  the  vault  in  which  it  was  found  is 
entirely  of  stone  and  brick,  very  dry,  and  without  wood 
or  any  other  substance  that  could  affect  the  metal. 

On  the  outside  of  the  lid  was  this  inscription:  D.  de 
la  A.  Per  Ate"  which  was  interpreted  to  mean,  "Dis- 
coverer of  America,  First  Admiral."  It  has  been  ad- 
vanced, as  an  argument  against  the  authenticity  of 
these  remains,  that  the  term  "America"  was  not  in 
use  at  the  time  the  remains  of  Columbus  were  brought 
to  Santo  Domingo,  and  hence  the  inscription  must  be 
spurious,  and  fraud  was  implied,  if  not  alleged.  Re- 
garding the  "fraud,"  no  one  acquainted  with  the  cir- 
cumstances of  discovery  and  the  high  character  of  the 
people  concerned,  will  for  a  moment  admit  it;  and  it 
has   been    satisfactorily  shown  that  the  term  America 


378 


IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 


was  in  use  as  early  as  1520,  or  sixteen  years  at  least  be- 
fore the  translation  of  the  remains.  On  the  inside  of  the 
lid  were  the  words,  "  I  litre  y  Edo  Varon,  Dn  Crist  oval 
Colon."  On  the  right  end  of  the  case  was  the  letter  A, 
on  the  left  end  and  on  the  front,  C.  The  silver  plate 
found  in  the  case  also  had  inscribed  on  it  the  name  and 


nT^  ty^~  rJ-*^ 


b^  <^* 


FAC-SIMILE   OF   OLD    BAPTISMAL    BOOK. 


titles  of  Columbus ;  and  it  was  held  by  the  Dominicans 
that  the  proof  of  genuineness  was  overwhelming:  in  the 
inscriptions,  and  in  the  locality  in  which  the  case  was 
found. 

Regarding  the  writing  on  the  silver  plate,  an  objec- 
tion has  been  raised  that  the  s  in  the  spelling  of  Cris- 
toval  was  not  of  the  kind  in  vogue  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  and  could  not  be  genuine;   but  this  I  myself 


^ 
•^ 


1 


•i 


.^ 


K? 


WHERE    IS    THE    TOMB    OF    COLUMBUS?  3^1 

proved  to  be  an  error,  for  in  the  oldest  record  in  the 
cathedral,  the  Book  of  Baptisms,  bearing  date  1591,  this 
same  form  of  s  is  used.  I  photographed  the  page  on 
which  it  occurs,  in  order  to  show  that  it  was  authentic. 
Having  orders  from  the  chief  of  my  department  at 
Washington  to  obtain  a  fac-simile  of  the  caskets  in 
which  the  remains  found  in  1877  were  held,  I  had  a 
perfect  duplicate  made,  with  ancient  characters  and  all, 
and  this  was  sent  to  Chicago  for  exhibition,  with  other 
relics  of  Columbus,  in  the  convent  of  La  Rabida.  After 
the  identification  of  the  bones,  they  were  deposited  in 
a  cell  behind  one  of  the  chapels  in  the  cathedral,  and 
.  eventually  the  leaden  case  was  inclosed  in  one  of  satin- 
wood  and  glass,  so  that  everything  is  visible  to  the 
observer  —  case,  bones  and  inscriptions. 

The  alleged  discovery  of  these  remains,  of  course, 
as  soon  as  the  startling  information  became  public, 
attracted  the  attention  of  Spain;  for  her  claim  to  the 
true  relics  was  in  danger  of  being  invalidated.  The 
Royal  Academy  at  Madrid  discussed  the  question  at 
great  length,  and  finally  published  a  book  containing 
the  results  of  their  investigations.  The  subject  was 
treated  elaborately  and  exhaustively,  but  with  evident 
heat  and  some  prejudice,  and  while  it  sums  up  the  evi- 
dence against  the  validity  of  the  Domingo  bones,  yet  it 
offers  nothing  to  prove  that  the  boveda  (or  vault)  opened 
by  the  Spaniards  in  1795,  contained  the  true  relics  of 
Columbus;  in  fact  it  is  all  of  a  negative  character. 

But  the  conclusion  reached  by  the  Academy  is  that 
"The  remains  of  Cristoval  Colon  are  in  the  cathedral 
of    Habana,  in   the  shadow  of   the  orlorious   banner  of 


382  IN    THE    WAKE    OF    COLUMBUS. 

Castile.  .  .  .  It  is  most  fit  that  over  his  sepulcher 
waves  the  same  flag-  that  sailed  with  him  from  Palos  in 
the  Santa  Maria.  .  .  .  There  rest  the  bones  of  the 
First  Admiral  of  the  Indies;  there  is  his  last  abode." 

I  sincerely  desire  to  assent  to  this  opinion,  feeling 
how  much  more  fit  it  were  if  the  remains  still  reposed 
under  the  flag  Columbus  himself  adopted;  but  after 
having  sifted  all  the  evidence  carefully,  after  having 
seen  the  place  selected  by  the  Admiral  for  his  last 
abode,  after  having  examined  the  men  who  were  pres- 
ent at  the  discovery,  the  casket,  the  inscriptions,  and 
even  the  relics  themselves,  I  am  forced  to  admit  that 
the  Dominicans  have  a  stronger  case  than  the  Havanese. 
As  already  shown,  the  Spaniards  found  absolutely  noth- 
ing to  prove  that  the  ashes  they  removed  in  1795  were 
those  of  the  Admiral,  and  no  claim  is  advanced  that 
they  did.  The  only  tradition  they  had  to  guide  them 
was  that  the  remains  were  on  the  gospel  side  of  the 
altar,  and  this  is  equally  applicable  to  the  vault  opened 
in  1877.  The  error  of  the  Spaniards  lay  in  their  igno- 
rance of  the  fact  that  there  were  two  vaults,  closely 
contiguous;  that  only  a  few  inches  distant,  in  fact,  from 
the  one  they  opened,  was  another.  Both  vaults  are 
under  the  chancel,  both  on  the  gospel  side;  but  the  one 
containing  the  remains  alleged  by  the  Dominicans  to  be 
those  of  Columbus  is  nearer  (close  to)  the  wall.  The 
Spaniards  in  making  their  excavation,  by  chance  opened 
a  vault  wherein  were  the  fragments  of  a  leaden  case,  and 
vestiges  of  human  remains;  and  as  they  could  not  pre- 
sume that  close  at  hand,  even  within  the  same  chancel, 
there  was  another  vault,  they  concluded  that  what  they 


WHERE    IS    THE    TOMB    OF   COLUMBUS?  383 

found  was  what  they  wanted.  Such  a  mistake  might 
have  occurred  to  the  Dominicans  themselves;  but  is  it 
not  strange  that  the  tomb  of  the  discoverer  of  a  world 
did  not  bear  an  inscription,  not  even  the  common  cross, 
which  is  not  denied  the  meanest  of  the  poor? 

"Whose,  then,  were  the  remains  carried  to  Havana  in 
1795?  It  was  at  first  thought  that  they  were  those  of 
Don  Bartholomew,  Christopher's  brother  who  died  at 
Santo  Domingo  in  15 14 ;  but  finally  it  was  concluded  that 
they  pertained  to  Don  Diego,  the  son  and  Viceroy,  who 
was,  according  to  history,  and  at  the  expressed  wish  of 
his  wife,  interred  in  the  chancel  of  the  cathedral.  It 
must  then  (says  the  chronicler  I  have  been  following) 
be  acknowledged  that,  while  there  is  no  evidence  to  the 
contrary,  the  relics  taken  to  Havana  with  so  much  pomp 
must  have  been  those  of  Diego  Columbus,  son  of  the 
great  Discoverer,  and  who,  during  his  first  term  as  gov- 
ernor of  Hispaniola,  greatly  promoted  the  colonization 
of  Cuba.  This  being  true,  it  seems,  after  all,  most  fit- 
ting that  Cuba  should  have  secured  (even  though 
unwittingly)  the  relics  of  one  who  was  so  closely  iden- 
tified with  her  colonization,  and  that  Santo  Domingo 
should  have  retained  (though  unconsciously)  those  of 
the  great  man  who  founded  the  first  city  on  her  soil, 
and  whose  last  wish  it  was  that  he  might  rest  forever  in 
her  embrace. 

Since  the  discovery,  accusations  of  fraud  have  been 
made,  but  no  evidence  has  been  adduced  that  such  was 
perpetrated ;  in  truth,  nothing  could  be  sustained  against 
men  of  such  blameless  lives  as  the  archbishop,  then 
the  Apostolic  Delegate  of  the  Pope,  Monsenor  Roque 


384 


IN  THE   WAKE  OF   COLUMBUS. 


Cocchia,  Bishop  of  Orope,  and  the  canon  of  the  cathe- 
dral, Bellini. 

I  have  followed,  in  writing  this  account  of  the  last 
burial-place  of  Columbus,  first,  the  Informe  of  the 
Spanish  Academy,  and  second,  the  work  published  in 
Santo  Domingo  by  Emiliano  Tejera,  whose  words  even 
I  have  sometimes  used,  as  translated  from  the  original 


THE   TABLET   AND    THE   VAULT   AT    SANTO   DOMINGO. 

Spanish,  and  to  whom,  as  a  friend  and  an  author,  I  am 
indebted  for  his  impartial  statements.  Several  other 
pamphlets  have  been  published  on  this  question,  but 
the  two  cited  above  suffice  to  give  one  all  the  facts  on 
both  sides.  Tejera  closes  his  work,  '■'■Los  Restos  de 
Co/on,"  with  an  impassioned  appeal  to  the  world  for  a 
just  and  impartial  verdict.     After  reciting  the  trials  and 


WHERE   IS   THE  TOMB   OF   COLUMBUS?  385 

sorrows  of  Columbus,  he  says:  "And  what  did  Fate 
reserve  for  the  discoverer  of  America  in  return  for  so 
much  faith,  and  a  life  devoted  to  a  realization  of  the 
soul's  ideal?  Sad  to  confess,  the  hatred  of  the  envious, 
the  sorrows  of  a  faithful  servant,  the  crushing  weight  of 
insult,  shipwreck,  disappointment,  and  finally  a  sad  and 
solitary  death,  filled  to  overflowing  with  the  bitterness 
of  one  who,  after  having  consecrated  his  whole  life  to 
the  cause  of  humanity,  goes  down  to  the  grave  seeing 
that  mankind  has  for  him  only  a  Calvary.  Nearly  three 
hundred  years  after  the  death  of  the  great  Admiral, 
posterity  gave  evidence  of  a  desire  to  pay  their  debt  of 
gratitude,  and  it  was  decided  to  transfer  his  remains 
from  one  Spanish  colony  to  another.  But  those  in 
charge  of  the  removal  made  a  mistake,  and  homage  was 
paid  to  a  stranger,  while  the  great  hero  remained  for- 
gotten in  his  stone  vault  in  Santo  Domingo.  Another 
great  wrong  may  be  inflicted  to-day:  for  his  authentic 
remains  are  on  the  eve  of  being  disowned,  and  thus  the 
oblivion  of  three  centuries  will  be  perpetuated." 

It  may  seem  trivial  to  the  outside  world,  but  to  the 
Dominicans  the  question  is  a  vital  one,  and  they  desire, 
of  all  things,  to  prove  to  the  world  that  the  ashes  of 
Columbus  remain  in  the  cathedral,  and  the  island  in 
which  he  himself  desired  they  should  finally  rest. 

In  view  of  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  an  adjustment 
of  differences  between  the  Dominican  and  the  Spanish 
governments,  perhaps  it  might  not  seem  presumptuous 
in  me  to  suggest  that  they  effect  a  compromise,  and  one 
of  them  resign  to  the  other  the  ashes  in  its  possession, 
depositing  them  in  a  common  vault,  erect  above  them 


386  IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

a  monument  commemorating  the  many  virtues  of  their 
erstwhile  owners;  and  thus  the  admirers  of  the  great 
Columbus  would  feel  quite  certain  of  their  hero,  and 
not  be  harassed  by  doubts  that  they  were  paying  their 
devotions  at  the  wrong  shrine. 

Shortly  after  my  arrival  at  Santo  Domingo,  I  was 
taken  to  the  cathedral  and  was  shown  the  alleged  re- 
mains of  the  great  Admiral.  Since  their  removal  from 
the  vault  in  which  they  were  discovered,  in  1877,  they 
have  been  inclosed  in  a  casket  of  satin-wood,  and  are 
now  guarded  in  a  little  cell  at  the  left  of  the  great  altar 
in  the  cathedral.  To  obtain  permission  to  view  the  re- 
mains, it  is  necessary  to  secure  the  sanction  of  the  ecclesi- 
astical, municipal  and  national  authorities.  Each  body 
holds  a  key  to  the  cell,  and  a  delegate  from  each  must 
accompany  the  visitor.  As  Commissioner  from  the 
Exposition,  I  was  given  the  extraordinary  privilege  of 
viewing  the  rcstos,  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Relations 
accompanying  me  to  and  through  the  cathedral,  and 
Sefior  Pichardo,  a  local  historian  of  renown,  explaining 
to  me  all  the  details.  I  was  shown  the  vaults,  the  frag- 
ments of  the  leaden  case  out  of  the  grave  of  Don  Luis 
Colon,  the  cell,  and  finally  the  remains  themselves.  I 
photographed  everything  appertaining  to  the  relics  and 
the  things  having  a  bearing  upon  their  authenticity, 
and  while  in  the  thick  of  it  a  register  was  brought  me, 
in  which  I  was  requested  to  inscribe  my  signature  and 
my  opinion  as  to  the  legitimacy  of  the  bones.  But  it 
did  not  appear  to  me  that  I  was  there  to  give  an  opin- 
ion, having  been  sent  by  my  Government  merely  to  col- 
lect data  for  others  wiser  than  mvself  in  historical  lore 


WHERE   IS   THE   TOMB   OF   COLUMBUS?  387 

to  elaborate.  So  I  took  council  with  myself,  while  the 
eyes  of  the  eager  officials  were  upon  me,  and,  instead  of 
committing  myself  to  an  irrevocable  opinion,  I  quietly 
walked  all  around  the  question  of  legitimacy,  and  wrote 
how  happy  I  was  to  view  this  grand  cathedral,  this  one- 
time resting-place  of  the  ashes  of  the  great  Columbus, 
etc. ,  etc. ,  having  seen  so  many  places  identified  with 
his  life  and  grand  achievements  in  other  lands.  When 
this  was  translated  to  the  officials  in  waiting  it  did  not 
seem,  somehow,  to  satisfy  them,  and  a  deep  silence  fell 
around  us,  broken  at  last  by  the  indignant  exclamation 
of  my  guide,  that  I  had  not  pronounced  upon  the  authen- 
ticity of  the  relics  at  all. 

Concerning  this  question  of  the  present  resting-place 
of  the  bones  of  Columbus,  I  may  say,  however,  that  I 
have  declared  myself  in  favor  of  Santo  Domingo;  but 
it  was  not  until  after  I  had  resigned  my  position  as 
Commissioner,  and  when  my  declaration  would  not  con- 
vey with  it  an  official  sanction.  My  mission  merely  was 
to  collect  everything  pertaining  to  Columbus,  not  only 
in  Santo  Domingo,  but  in  Cuba  and  throughout  all  the 
Antilles,  that  this  historical  material  might  be  presented 
at  Chicago  for  inspection  by  a  competent  committee, 
who  would  then  perhaps  determine  as  between  the 
claims  of  the  two  islands.  To  give  an  opinion  while 
then  in  the  performance  of  my  duty,  as  above  stated, 
would  seem  at  least  an  impertinence,  and  could  not  be 
entertained. 


XIX. 


PUERTO  RICO  AND  PONCE  BE  LEON. 


T 


'HE  island  of  Puerto 
Rico  was  discovered 
by  Columbus  on  his  second 
voyage  to  the  New  World, 
in  November,  1493.  Sailing- 
northwesterly  up  from  the 
Caribbees,  leaving  behind 
him  the  attractive  group  of 
the  Virgins,  he  had  scarcely 
lost  sight  of  these  before 
another  and  larger  island 
came  to  view.  Coasting  its 
southern  shore,  the  Span- 
iards feasted  their  eyes  upon 
a  succession  of  hills  and  mountains  covered  with 
glorious  forests,  and  sailed  in  and  out  of  beautiful 
harbors  fringed  with  tropical  trees  above  beaches  of 
glistening  sands. 

Borinquen  was  the  native  name  of  this  large  and 
fertile  island,  but  the  European  discoverer  called  it 
San  Juan  Bautista,  afterward  changed  to  Puerto  Rico. 

388 


ARMS   OF   PUERTO    RICO. 


PUERTO    RICO   AND   PONCE   DE   LEON.  3S9 

Columbus  landed  at  a  harbor  which  he  called  Agua- 
dilla,  or  the  watering-place;  here  he  filled  his  water- 
casks,  and,  after  remaining  a  couple  of  days,  sailed 
thence  over  to  the  island  of  Santo  Domingo,  only  sixty 
miles  distant.  Arriving  eventually  at  Samana  (the 
Golfo  de  las  FlecJias),  an  Indian  who  had  been  taken 
from  this  spot  to  Spain  on  the  previous  voyage,  and 
been  baptized  and  instructed  in  the  faith,  was  sent 
ashore  in  a  boat.  The  Indian  was  then  set  at  liberty, 
bearing  many  trinkets  and  kind  messages  to  the  ca- 
cique, but  nothing  was  ever  heard  of  him  again.  One 
Indian  still  remained  with  Columbus;  he  was  a  young 
Lucayan,  a  native  of  Guanahani,  and  he  had  been  chris- 
tened Diego  Colon,  after  the  brother  of  the  Admiral;  he 
served  the  Spaniards  as  interpreter. 

On  the  twenty-fifth  of  November  the  peaks  of  Monte- 
Cristi  appeared  to  the  eyes  of  the  anxious  Spaniards, 
and  they  came  to  anchor  in  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  del 
Oro,  where  they  found  the  dead  bodies  of  some  of  their 
countrymen  who  had  been  killed  at  the  time  of  the 
massacre  at  Navidad.  Next  day  they  discovered  that 
all  the  garrison  had  been  killed,  and  saw  that  the 
friendly  chieftain,  Guacanagari   was   wounded    and   ill. 

At  first  they  distrusted  the  cacique's  story,  but  he 
was  at  length  taken  on  board  the  ships,  and  his  wonder- 
ing eyes  beheld  the  various  plants  and  animals  brought 
over  for  the  settlement.  The  Indian  then  saw,  for  the 
first  time,  cattle,  sheep,  swine  and  horses;  and,  as  the 
largest  native  quadruped  of  Haiti  was  no  bigger  than 
a  raccoon,  he  was  astounded  at  their  size.  The  horses, 
in  particular,  excited   his  wonderment  to  the    highest 


390  IN   THE   WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

degree;  they  were  the  first  ever  brought  to  America, 
and  he  shrank  from  them  as  terrible  monsters,  that 
would  devour  him  at  the  Spaniards'  commands. 

If  anything  further  were  needed  to  impress  the  sim- 
ple Indians  with  the  prowess  of  Columbus,  it  was 
presented  in  the  persons  of  the  Carib  warriors,  taken 
prisoners  in  the  Southern  islands,  and  from  whom  the 
timid  Haitiens  shrank  in  affright.  But  there  were  other 
captives  to  whom  the  cacique  was  attracted.  These 
were  certain  Indian  women  from  Puerto  Rico,  whom 
Columbus  had  rescued  from  the  Caribs;  but  who  were 
detained  by  him  in  captivity.  Among  them  was  one 
woman  of  fine  presence,  whom  even  the  Spaniards 
admired  and  had  named  Catalina.  Guacanagari  was  at 
once  enamored  of  this  princess  from  Puerto  Rico,  and 
conveyed  to  her  the  information  that  she  and  her  friends 
would  find  liberty  and  a  warm  welcome  awaiting  them, 
if  they  could  but  join  him  at  his  village  on  shore.  The 
women  made  the  attempt,  dropping  overboard  about 
midnight  and  swimming  for  the  shore.  It  was  three 
miles  distant,  and  the  sea  was  rough,  but  they  all 
reached  the  land  in  safety,  though  four  of  them  were 
recaptured  on  the  beach.  A  beacon  light  was  burning, 
and  the  cacique  was  in  waiting.  Catalina  and  her  com- 
panions escaped  with  him  to  the  forest,  and  when  a 
search  was  made,  next  morning,  all  the  Indians  had 
disappeared. 

Guacanagari,  henceforth,  was  regarded  as  a  fugitive, 
to  be  dealt  with  as  a  felon,  and  was  eventually  hounded 
to  death  by  the  men  he  had  most  benefited.  Catalina 
disappears  from  view  with  her  flight  into  the  forest. 


PUERTO    RICO    AND    PONCE   DE    LEON. 


391 


GENERAL  HEUREAUX. 

(President  of  the  Republic  of  Santo  Domingo.) 

The  Island  of  Borinquen,  or  Porto  Rico,  from  which 
the  Indian  maid  was  taken,  was  left  undisturbed  for 
fifteen  years  after  its  discovery;  but  in  1508  Ponce  de 
Leon,  the  Governor  of  the  eastern  province  of  Santo 
Domingo,  had  his  attention  called  to  it  by  reports  of  its 
rich  soil  and  mineral  wealth.  He  sailed  across  the 
channel  and  landed  at  Aguada,  with  a  caravel  of  sol- 
diers. He  was  hospitably  entertained  by  the  cacique  of 
that  province,  Agneynaba,  who  showed  him  some  rivers 
with  golden  sands. 

The  bay  of  Aguadilla  is  broad  and  beautiful,  with 


392  IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

miles  of  cocoa  palms  sweeping  its  sandy  shores,  and  with' 
a  background  of  the  rounded  hills  that  distinguish  the 
island  of  Puerto  Rico.  Both  Columbus  and  De  Leon 
were  charmed  with  these  peaceful  shores,  and  with  good 
reason.  The  Admiral  watered  his  ships  at  the  spring 
of  Aguadilla,  which  to-day  still  gushes  forth  from  the 
earth  in  great  volume,  and  gives  the  spot  its  name: 
Aguada,  or  Aguadilla;  good  watering-place. 

Leaving  here  some  of  his  men,  De  Leon  returned  to 
Santo  Domingo,  and  came  back  with  an  armament, 
finally  locating  at  a  spot  near  the  present  capital  of  the 
island,  San  Juan.  Not  long  after  he  commenced  the 
distribution  of  the  natives  of  the  island  as  slaves,  to  his 
followers,  in  repartimientos,  as  the  custom  had  prevailed 
in  Santo  Domingo.  The  gentle  Indians  had  never  before 
been  subjected  to  any  restraint,  and  they  soon  revolted, 
killing  many  Spaniards  before  they  were  subjected. 

During  this  revolt  some  of  the  Indians  tried  an  ex- 
periment to  ascertain  if  it  were  true  (as  the  Spaniards 
told  them)  that  the  white  strangers  were  immortal,  and 
could  not  be  killed.  Two  of  them  found  a  Spaniard  in 
a  lonely  place,  took  him  to  a  river,  and  held  his  head 
under  water  two  or  three  hours,  after  that  watching  the 
body  for  two  days.  Well  satisfied  from  this  experiment 
that  the  Spaniard  was  really  dead,  these  conscientious 
Indians  reported  to  that  effect  to  their  chief,  Agueynaba, 
and  the  massacre  was  begun.  But  as  the  Spaniards 
were  being  constantly  re-enforced  by  soldiers  coming  in 
caravels  out  of  the  sea,  the  simple  Indians  did  finally 
believe  that  those  they  had  slain  revived,  in  some  mys- 
terious way,  and  so  submitted. 


PUERTO   RICO   AND   PONCE   DE   LEON.  393 

Ponce  de  Leon  has  a  name  for  gentle  deeds  and 
chivalrous  actions;  but  he  did  not  hesitate  to  employ 
the  most  barbarous  methods  for  the  subjection  of  the 
natives.  To  this  day  has  survived  the  fame  of  his  great 
bloodhound  "  Berezillo. "  The  great  dog  was  a  terror 
to  the  Indians,  springing  upon  them  and  tearing  them 
to  pieces,  and  his  services  were  so  highly  valued  that  he 
drew  the  pay  of  a  cross-bowman.  After  years  of  fiend- 
ish work  in  the  Spanish  service,  this  Berezillo  was 
finally  killed  by  a  poisoned  arrow,  while  swimming  a 
stream  in  pursuit  of  a  Carib. 

The  first  city  founded,  Caparra,  was  located  across  the 
bay  southwest  from  the  present  capital.  Caparra  was 
abandoned  in  1522,  and  nothing  of  consequence  remains 
to  indicate  its  site.  San  Juan  de  Puerto  Rico,  founded 
by  De  Leon  in  15  n,  became  the  capital,  and  is  now  the 
chief  city,  though  not  leading  in  population. 

The  chief  ports  to-day  are  San  Juan  and  Arecibo  on 
the  north  coast,  Humacao  and  Fajardo  on  the  east, 
Arroyo,  Ponce  and  Guayanilla  on  the  south  coast, 
Mayaguez  and  Aguadilla  on  the  west. 

The  island  is  mountainous,  the  interior  being  a  vast 
sea  of  rounded  hills,  yet  with  such  gentle  slopes  and 
fertile  soil  as  to  be  cultivable  to  their  summits,  and 
possessing  great  possibilities  for  the  agriculturist.  The 
highest  mountain,  the  nucleus  of  the  central  chain  that 
traverses  the  island  from  east  to  west,  is  Luquillo ;  it  is 
about  four  thousand  feet  high.  There  are  many  rivers, 
large  and  small ;  numerous  caves,  in  which  the  Indians 
formerly  lived ;  several  hot  springs,  good  roads  between 
the  chief  cities,  and  an  improved  cultivation  throughout 


394  IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

the  island.  "  The  cattle  on  a  thousand  hills  "  is  an  ex- 
pression that  may  well  be  used  in  speaking  of  Puerto 
Rico,  as  the  hills  are  to  be  counted  by  thousands,  and  the 
island  is  famous  for  its  fine  breeds  of  live-stock.  All 
the  islands  south  of  Puerto  Rico  send  to  it  for  its  horses 
and  cattle,  which  are  shipped  thence  in  large  numbers. 

To  conclude  these  statistics  (which  are  only  given 
because  so  little  is  really  known  of  this  island),  Puerto 
Rico  is  nearly  square  in  outline ;  it  contains  some  three 
hundred  and  fifty  Spanish  square  leagues,  with  a  popu- 
lation of  about  seven  hundred  and  fifty  thousand. 

The  largest  city  is  Ponce,  with  a  population  of  per- 
haps thirty-five  thousand ;  it  is  on  the  south  coast,  in 
the  center  of  the  sugar  region.  San  Juan,  the  capital, 
has  but  twenty-five  thousand  inhabitants,  and  there  are 
several  cities  with  populations  numbering  at  least  twenty 
thousand  each. 

The  capital,  San  Juan  de  Puerto  Rico,  is  most  advan- 
tageously situated  on  an  island  connected  with  the  main- 
land of  the  north  coast  by  a  bridge  and  causeway.  A 
magnificent  high  road  (the  camino  real)  connects  it  with 
Ponce;  a  line  of  railway  has  been  projected  and  is  par- 
tially constructed,  that  will  eventually  traverse  the  whole 
island  along  the  coast,  connecting  all  important  towns 
and  cities,  and  short  lines  now  run  out  into  the  country. 
San  Juan  is  as  compact  a  city  as  ever  was  built;  it  is 
on  a  peninsula  terminated  by  a  fortress,  surrounded 
by  massive  walls  of  hardened  stone  and  mortar,  with  a 
height  in  places  of  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  feet.  Be- 
hind the  citadel  is  a  broad  parade  ground,  but  except 
for  this  open  space  the  houses  cover  the  area  within  the 


PUERTO   RICO   AND   PONCE   DE   LEON.  397 

walls,  from  the  eastern  to  the  western  fort.  The  houses 
are  of  stone,  with  iron  balconies,  and  of  all  colors:  pink, 
gray,  blue,  yellow,  drab  —  but  none  white.  These  min- 
gling tints  produce  a  harmony  of  tones  most  gratifying 
to  the  eye.  All  have  shutters  and  jalousies,  but  no  win- 
dows, and  all  are  chimneyless.  The  cathedral,  theater, 
city  hall,  the  Governor-General's  palace,  and  several 
churches,  are  the  principal  structures.  Below  the  walls 
are  the  wharves,  about  which  and  on  the  Marina,  only, 
wooden  houses  are  suffered  to  be  built.  Through  the 
Marina  is  a  broad  concrete  walk  lined  with  seats,  adorned 
with  rude  statues,  and  with  an  ornamental  garden  of 
flowers  and  tropic  trees  lying  between  it  and  the  high 
walls,  which  are  gray  and  stark,  with  ornate  and  antique 
sentry-boxes  projecting  at  intervals. 

Through  an  arched  entrance  in  the  lower  wall  runs 
the  only  street  into  the  city  when  the  gates  fronting  the 
sea  are  closed ;  from  this  entrance  a  road  leads  out  into 
the  country,  at  first  through  open  pasture,  then  dipping 
toward  the  shore  of  the  bay,  where  it  is  bordered  with 
cocoa-palms  that  increase  in  number  as  the  distance 
lengthens  from  the  town.  Here  and  there  is  a  little 
village,  full  of  shops  and  drinking  booths,  where  the 
people  come  from  the  city  to  drink  and  pass  the  time 
in  the  afternoon  and  on  Sundays.  Beyond,  is  another 
broad  waste,  then  the  outer  fort  at  the  bridge  is  reached, 
where  the  stream  and  shore  are  bordered  with  man- 
groves. In  the  distance  is  a  misty  mountain,  some  two 
thousand  feet  in  height,  and  from  this  circle  around 
hundreds  and  hundreds  of  hills  and  hillocks,  form- 
ing a  panorama  of  exceeding  loveliness.     These  hills 


398  IN    THE   WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

approach  the  shore,  growing  smaller  and  smaller  as  they 
near  it,  flecked  with  every  shade  and  shadow  of  cloud, 
and  gleaming  in  the  sun.  A  village  shows  here  and 
there  in  a  valley;  the  cocoa-palms  stand  in  long  golden 
ranks  on  the  shores  of  the  bay.  There  are  few  trees, 
however,  in  town,  save  in  the  plaza,  a  palm  on  the 
Marina,  and  at  the  casa  blanca,  the  house  of  De  Leon. 

My  arrival  at  San  Juan,  with  the  invitation  from  our 
Government  to  participate  in  the  Exposition,  was  during 
Christmas  week,  1891.  The  whole  city  was  in  festivity; 
there  was  grand  mass  in  the  cathedral,  music  continually 
in  the  plaza,  and  a  special  view  of  the  holy  patroness  la 
Virgcn  de  Providoicia,  whose  cloak  is  said  to  be  worth 
fifteen  hundred  dollars,  and  her  jewels  twenty  thousand 
dollars.  In  response  to  a  cablegram  from  St.  Thomas, 
Mr.  Hayden,  the  American  Vice-Consul,  met  me  on 
board  the  steamer  and  took  me  with  him  to  quarters 
in  the  consulate.  His  good  offices  and  the  hospitality 
of  our  Consul,  Mr.  Stewart,  were  freely  placed  at  my 
disposal,  and  through  them  I  was  at  once  enabled  to 
communicate  with  the  authorities. 

The  consular  residence  was  in  a  large  and  noble  struc- 
ture on  the  bluff  above  the  fortifications,  and  in  the 
healthiest  part  of  the  city  commanding  a  glorious  view 
of  the  harbor  and  distant  mountains.  It  is  important, 
in  securing  residence  in  San  Juan,  to  find,  if  possible,  a 
spot  elevated  above  the  dirty  streets  and  houses,  that 
are  crowded  and  swarming  with  a  careless  population. 
For  every  year  the  yellow  fever  attacks  the  foreigners 
here,  and  many  succumb  to  its  dread  ravages.  At  the 
time  of  my  arrival  the  Consul  was  at  home  on  sick  leave, 


v?;  mwv 


PUERTO   RICO   AND    PONCE   DE   LEON.  401 

having  been  prostrated  with  fever  from  which  he  barely 
recovered.  Most  of  the  foreign  residents  live  in  the 
immediate  suburbs,  like  Cangrejo,  where  there  are  gar- 
dens of  palms  and  fruits,  and  where  the  air  is  pure. 

The  Governor  and  Captain-General,  Senor  Don  Jose 
Lasso  y  Perez,  received  me  graciously  and  acted  upon 
my  suggestions  with  promptitude.  A  commission  was 
soon  appointed,  consisting  of  gentlemen  identified  with 
the  island's  best  interests,  and  after  my  departure  they 
had  charge  of  the  Exposition  matters  and  seemed  alive 
to  the  demands  of  the  occasion.  Although  a  Spanish 
island,  one  of  the  few  possessions  yet  remaining  to 
Spain  in  America,  yet  there  is  the  same  discontent  with 
the  home  government,  so  manifest  in  Cuba.  Exces- 
sive taxes  and  an  alien  soldiery,  together  with  extensive 
and  expensive  office-holdings  by  foreigners,  have  con- 
tributed to  wean  this  once  loyal  island  from  its  attach- 
ment to  the  Spanish  crown. 

The  social  life  of  San  Juan,  though  foreign  and  Span- 
ish in  its  features,  is  delightful  to  one  allowed  to  visit 
in  the  families;  it  is  there  that  may  be  seen  the  true 
courtesy,  the  gentle  breeding,  of  these  descendants  of 
the  Old  World  hidalgos.  One  cannot  fail  to  note  the 
gracious  beauty  of  the  ladies  of  Puerto  Rico ;  they  pos- 
sess all  the  features  which  make  their  Spanish  sisters 
so  famous,  and  have  a  languid  grace  all  their  own. 

From  the  living  types  of  the  present  inhabitants  to 
the  ancient  dwellers  here,  may  seem  a  violent  departure, 
and  those  in  the  flesh  are  certainly  far  more  interesting; 
but  the  aborigines  have  their  claims,  and  I  would  not 
leave  the  island  without  a  brief  reference  to  them. 


402 


IN   THE   WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 


NATIVE   HUTS    AND    DOVE   COTES. 

(  Island  of  Puerto  Rico.) 

The  aborigines  of  this  island  have  left  behind  them 
some  very  unique  antiquities.  There  are  no  others  like 
them  in  the  world,  and  they  present  most  interesting- 
subjects  for  study.  In  our  national  museum  is  the 
finest  collection  of  these  Indian  relics,  the  gift  some 
years  ago  of  the  late  George  Latimer,  of  vSan  Juan.  It 
has  been  described  in  a  valuable  pamphlet  by  Professor 


PUERTO    RICO   AND    PONCE   DE   LEON.  403 

Mason,  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  and  it  is  a  pos- 
session envied  by  all  the  museums  in  the  world.  There 
is  now  in  the  island  a  collection  of  these  antiquities  that 
may  rival  that  in  our  museum,  owned  by  a  learned 
doctor  residing  at  Bayamon,  and  I  secured  the  promise 
of  this  collection  for  exhibition  at  Chicago. 

Without  going  into  a  description  of  the  many  unique 
specimens  found  in  Puerto  Rico,  I  may  mention  two,  at 
least,  that  are  peculiar  to  the  island :  these  are  a  stone 
collar  and  a  carved  stone  shaped  like  a  pointed  mount- 
ain. The  collars  have  been  found  in  great  abundance, 
and  it  was  conjectured  that  they  were  made  for  war 
or  sacrificial  purposes.  But  the  explanation  given  me 
by  a  Jesuit  professor  seems  to  me  to  be  the  correct  one. 
He  held  that  these  stone  collars,  which  are  in  shape 
like  a  horse-collar,  and  elaborately  carved,  were  made 
by  the  Indians  for  use  after  death.  Each  Indian  of  im- 
portance, with  no  tools  other  than  stone  knives  and 
chisels,  would  spend  the  greater  part  of  a  lifetime 
laboriously  carving  out  this  great  stone,  and  when  he 
died  it  was  placed  in  the  grave  with  him,  resting  upon 
his  breast,  to  keep  him  in  place  forever,  so  that  the 
Devil  could  not  take  him  away. 

But  the  Indians  have  long  since  disappeared,  and  no 
one  can  tell  us  their  motives  in  making  these  queer 
things ;  the  antiquarian  can  only  indulge  in  blind  guesses 
as  to  their  uses. 

If  one  would  gain  knowledge  of  the  common  people 
he  must  go  to  the  market,  which  is  situated  on  the  hill 
near  the  ocean  skirt  of  the  city.  In  the  court,  wnich  is 
flagged  with  great  stones,  are  rude  booths  containing 


404 


IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 


ALONG    THE    T.1VER. 


meat,  vegetables  and  country  produce  of  ever}7  sort.  A 
little  stall  now  and  then  had  a  parrot  for  sale,  but 
most  conspicuous  of  the  fowl  kind  on  exhibition,  was 
the  game-cock,  tied  to  the  stool  of  its  owner.  Outside 
the  court,  in  sheds,  dozens  of   these  game-cocks  were 


PUERTO    RICO   AND    PONCE    DE   LEON.  405 

scratching  and  crowing,  each  one  confined  by  a  little 
length  of  string.  Asking  some  questions  about  them, 
I  was  shown  a  room  in  which  there  were  from  thirty 
to  fifty,  each  one  in  a  square  open  box,  and  every  one 
crowing  defiantly  at  the  top  of  his  lungs.  Every  cock 
had  the  feathers  shaven  from  his  back,  and  plucked 
from  head,  neck  and  tail.  They  were  very  pugnacious 
between  themselves,  but  easily  handled.  One  was 
shown  me  which  had  won  a  purse  of  one  hundred  dol- 
lars the  Sunday  before,  and  the  average  price  for  a 
good  game-cock  was  from  ten  to  twenty-five  dollars. 

Expressing  a  desire  to  see  the  cock-pit,  where  the 
fights  took  place,  a  man  conducted  me  to  the  Marina, 
where  I  was  shown  a  tumble-down  shanty  with  corru- 
gated iron  roof  covering  a  circular  inclosure  some 
thirty  feet  in  diameter.  The  floor  was  of  hard  earth 
inclosed  within  a  fence  three  feet  high,  outside  of 
which  were  seats  placed  around  the  arena,  and  num- 
bered. There  is  a  cock-fight  here  every  Sunday,  and 
a  great  deal  of  money  is  lost  and  won.  Outside  the 
structure,  on  the  sidewalk,  were  a  number  of  cocks  in  a 
row,  taking  an  airing,  tied  to  pegs  a  few  feet  apart.  The 
man  in  attendance  took  up  every  fowl  in  succession, 
and  after  filling  his  mouth  with  water  squirted  it  in  the 
eyes  and  under  the  wings  of  the  bird,  as  a  "  refresher." 
In  various  parts  of  the  city,  these  fighting-cocks  may  be 
seen  every  day,  taking  their  airings  on  the  sidewalks, 
strutting  up  and  down  to  the  length  of  their  strings,  and 
making  the  air  resound  with  their  crows  of  defiance. 

Beneath  the  walls  of  the  Morro  —  the  great  fort  that 
guards  the  harbor — the  heavy  surf  comes  tumbling  in, 


406 


IN   THE   WAKE    OF   COLUMBUS. 


thundering  at  the  cavernous  cliffs,  and  rolling  in  great 
white-crested  billows  over  the  coral  beds.  For  the 
perfection  of  sea  views,  comprising  waves  and  breakers, 
one  should  go  out  to  the  windward  side  of  San  Juan. 

Permission  was  given  me  to  visit  the  Morro.  It  is 
not  unlike  the  fortress  of  the  same  name  at  Havana. 
Within  its  great  walls  is  a   small  town  by  itself,  with 


SENTRY    BOX    AND    CKMKTKHY    GATE    AT    .SAN   JUAN. 


chapel,  houses  and  barracks,  and  there  are  deep  dun- 
geons, covered  ways  and  antiquated  guns.  A  light- 
tower  rises  above  the  fort  within  the  walls,  equipped 
with  a  first-class  light,  and  a  signal  station. 

Relics  of  the  early  days  of  Puerto  Rico  are  not 
plentiful  here,  and  although  I  persistently  searched,  I 
found   few  objects   of  interest.       Perhaps    the   Indian 


PUERTO   RICO   AND   PONCE   DE   LEON.  407 

relics  lead  in  interest,  but  only  to  the  antiquarian, 
while  to  the  numismatist  the  old  coins  of  the  island 
.are  valuable.  These  are  called  the  macuquina,  and  are 
clipped  coins  of  Spain,  generally  of  the  last  century, 
cut  and  counterstamped,  in  order  to  keep  them  in  the 
island  for  local  barter.  They  are  now  very  scarce,  and 
can  only  be  found  in  the  pawnshops  and  in  the  hands  of 
private  collectors. 

The  most  picturesque  structure  in  San  Juan  de 
Puerto  Rico,  leaving  out  portions  of  the  fortifications, 
is  the  building  occupied  to-day  by  the  Royal  Engineers, 
and  known  as  the  Casa  Blanca.  It  is  also  the  most 
valuable  to  the  historian,  for  it  was  built  and  occupied 
by  no  less  a  personage  than  Juan  Ponce  de  Leon,  the 
Conquistador  who,  as  has  been  said,  was  the  first  gov- 
ernor of  this  island,  coming  here  in  the  year  1508. 

The  Casa  Blanca  is  protected  toward  the  bay  by  a 
crenelated  wall  of  ancient  aspect,  backed  by  a  garden 
full  of  tropical  plants,  with  a  double  row  of  cocoa- 
palms  making  it  conspicuous.  From  the  seaward 
looking  windows  and  the  garden,  the  view  spread  out 
below,  of  the  bay  and  harbor,  is  most  entrancing. 
Immediately  beneath  is  the  great  gray  wall  of  the  line 
of  defense,  with  its  quaint  old  cannon,  its  projecting 
sentry  turrets  hanging  precariously  over  the  waves, 
and  its  massive  battlements;  beyond,  is  the  blue- 
tinted  water  of  the  bay,  the  palm-fringed  coast  of 
the  mainland;  the  low  and  jagged  hills  in  ranks  and 
rows,  growing  darker  and  mistier,  till,  merged  in  the 
clouds  above  and  well-nigh  piercing  them  rises  majestic 
Yunque,  the  mountain  with  an  Indian  name. 


408 


IN   THE   WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 


The  site  lies  midway  between  the  palace  and  the 
Morro.  In  Ponce  De  Leon's  time,  doubtless,  all  the 
space  was  open,  and  the  old  Conquistador,  ensconced 
in  his  white  castle,  could  sweep  the  surrounding  sea 
clear  to  the  horizon's  brim.  It  was  here,  after  the 
island   was  subjected,   that   he    sat    and    planned  the 


THE   CASA    BLANCA. 

{The  ancient  castle  of  Ponce  de  Leon  the  Conquistador.) 

voyage  that  made  his  name  so  famous.  Looking  out 
upon  the  northward-stretching  ocean,  he  speculated 
upon  the  unseen  wonders  that  lay  beyond  his  sight, 
turning  over  in  his  mind  the  stories  told  him  by  his  In- 
dian servants  of  the  mysterious  island  to  the  north,  in 
the  Lucayan  chain,  that  held  in  the  bosom  of  its  deep 


PUERTO   RICO   AND   PONCE   DE   LEON.  409 

forest  the  wonderful  Fountain  of  Youth.  So  we  may 
say  that  the  voyage  that  resulted  in  the  discovery  of 
Florida  and  the  upper  Bahamas  was  planned  in  this 
very  Crisa  Blanca,  the  ancient  castle  of  Ponce  de  Leon. 

It  was  in  the  year  15 12  that  Ponce  de  Leon  sailed 
out  of  the  bay  of  Aguadilla  for  the  discovery  of  Bimini, 
where,  the  Indians  of  Puerto  Rico  told  him,  was  to  be 
found  the  Fountain  of  Eternal  Youth.  Sailing  north- 
west he  cruised  the  Bahama  chain,  and  landed  on  San 
Salvador,  or  Guanahani,  the  first  land  discovered  by 
Columbus.  Leon  was  there  just  twenty  years  after  the 
landing  of  the  Admiral.  Thence,  sailing  northwardly, 
he  sighted  a  coast  banked  with  flowers  hanging  from 
lofty  trees;  this  he  called  Florida.  He  thought  it  an 
island,  even  after  he  had  been  named,  by  the  king  of 
Spain,  Adelantado  of  Florida  and  of  Bimini.  He  did 
not  stay  here,  but  under  the  guidance  of  an  old  woman, 
whom  he  found  on  one  of  the  keys,  searched  the  chain 
for  the  famed  Bimini,  and  finding  it  not  returned  dis- 
heartened to  Puerto  Rico;  one  of  his  officers  following 
him  with  the  tidings  of  its  discovery. 

He  received  from  the  crown  of  Spain  the  elevated 
title  of  Adelantado  of  Bimini  and  Florida;  but  his  at- 
tention was  so  drawn  to  affairs  in  the  island  of  Puerto 
Rico  that  he  paid  no  attention  to  his  new  provinces, 
until  the  great  discoveries  of  Cortez,  in  Mexico,  roused 
his  dormant  energies,  and  he  again  essayed  a  voyage  to 
the  northward. 

He  had  previously,  in  15 15,  made  an  expedition 
against  the  Caribs  of  the  Southern  islands,  but  was  dis- 
astrously defeated,  many  of  his  soldiers  were  killed,  and 


410 


IN   THE    WAKE   OE   COLUMBUS. 


he  returned  without  booty  to  his  own  island.  Here  he 
staid  as  governor  until  152 1,  when  he  fitted  out  two 
ships  and  sailed  for  Florida.  There  he  was  attacked 
by  the  Indians,  severely  wounded,  and  retreated  to 
Cuba,  where  he  died.  His  body  was  brought  to  Puerto 
Rico  and  deposited  beneath  the  altar  of  the  Dominican 
church  of  San  Juan,  where  it  rested  until  1863,  when  it 


THE   LAST   OF   HIM    WHO    SOUGHT    ETERNAL   YOUTH. 

{Lead  case  containing  the  bone*  of  Ponce  de  Leon.) 

was  removed,  the  intention  being  to  erect  a  monument 
to  his  memory,  and  place  his  ashes  beneath  it.  This 
monument  has  not  yet  been  erected,  and  the  ashes  still 
lie  unsepultured.  The  lead  case  in  which  they  are  con- 
tained can  be  seen  to-day,  in  the  chapel  attached  to  the 
church.  Here  I  saw  it,  in  1892.  It  is  about  three  feet 
long,  bound  with  ribbons  sealed  with  the  municipal  seal. 


PUERTO   RICO   AND   PONCE   DE   LEON.  411 

The  church  itself,  in  which  the  ashes  at  present  lie,  is  one 
of  the  oldest  in  San  Juan,  and  in  its  decorations  quite 
attractive.  Here,  then,  is  the  last  resting-place  of  one 
of  the  bravest  of  the  conquistadores,  the  subjugator  of 
Puerto  Rico,  discoverer  of  Florida,  and  the  seeker  for  the 
Fountain  of  Youth.  The  inscription  on  his  monument 
reads :  ' '  This  narrow  grave  contains  the  remains  of  a  man 
who  was  a  Lion  byname,  and  much  more  by  his  deeds." 

His  deeds,  indeed,  live  after  him;  the  island  he  dis- 
covered is  still  in  possession  of  the  descendants  of  the 
conquerors;  but  the  people  he  found  so  peacefully 
dwelling  here  have  long  since  passed  away. 

Facing  the  western  sea,  looking  out  over  the  waving 
palms,  the  Casa  Blanca  recalls  to  us  those  great  deeds 
of  the  lion-hearted  Spaniard.  There  is  no  spot  in  San 
Juan  more  picturesque,  and  no  outlook  so  attractive, 
especially  at  sunset.  One  memorable  sunset  I  shall 
never  forget.  As  the  sun  went  down,  the  mountain, 
great  and  solitary  Yunque,  was  left  cold  and  green,  with 
spirals  of  smoke  circling  around  its  crown  from  hidden 
valleys  in  its  cool  recesses.  Its  peak  was  left  outlined 
against  a  clear  and  amber  sky,  though  now  and  then 
obscured  by  smoke-colored  clouds.  After  the  sun  had 
fairly  set,  banks  of  rose-colored  clouds  remained  along 
the  horizon,  ascending  in  the  east,  even  to  the  moon, 
which,  "in  full-orbed  splendor,"  round  and  silver  white, 
looked  down  upon  the  lonely  island  in  the  bay.  In  the 
west,  flecking  a  sky  so  clear  and  hard  that  it  seemed  as 
if  cut  from  an  amethyst,  lay  fleecy  lines  of  golden 
clouds.  As  though  jealous  of  the  splendors  of  the 
sun,  that  night  the   moon    disported  a  lunar  rainbow, 


412 


IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 


rivaling  in  beauty  anything  I  have  ever  seen  in  the 
tropic  sky. 

Thus  I  left  the  island  of  Puerto  Rico ;  the  propeller 
again  shook  the  steamer,  and  soon  the  calm  waters  of 
the  sheltered  bay  gave  place  to  the  rougher  waves  of 
the  turbulent  Caribbean  Sea. 

The  clouds  faded  out  of  the  sky  as  the  open  sea  was 
reached,  and  the  breeze  was  so  cool  that  I  could  easily 
imagine  myself  in  Northern  waters  in  the  month  of  May. 
And  those  mountains  might  be  Northern,  too,  for  aught 
one  might  note  to  the  contrary,  were  it  not  for  their 
carpet  of  deepest  green,  and  the  border  of  palms  that 
caresses  their  feet  before  they  plunge  into  the  sea. 


m^r; 


A*.     / 


k    I 


'--  ^"-     *  ■  ■     -----  v.  -  .- -i-A.  ..         ny  '.i 

AKCIIKS   UF    SAN    FBAJTCISCO    CONVENT. — SANTO   DOMINUO    CITY. 


XX. 


AMONG    THE     SAINTS    AND     THE    VIRGINS. 

LYING  directly  east  of  Puerto  Rico  is  the  Danish 
Island  of  St.  Thomas ;  near  it  is  another,  St.  John's, 
and  south  of  these  lies  Santa  Cruz. 

All  these  Saints  at  present  pertain  to  Denmark ;  but 
north  of  them,  and  northwesterly,  is  a  cluster  of  isles 
and  islets  belonging  mostly  to  England,  and  known  as 
the  Virgins.  Columbus  named  them  all,  as  he  came 
through  this  archipelago  on  his  second  voyage  in  1493. 
The  latter  group  he  called  after  the  lamented  and  re- 
vered Saint  Ursula  and  her  hapless  eleven  thousand 
virgins,  so  cruelly  put  to  death  by  the  Huns.  Saints  and 
Virgins,  all,  are  now  nearly  as  dead  as  the  great  and 
holy  men  and  women  after  whom  they  were  named; 
moribund,  every  one,  and  awaiting  the  touch  of  Ameri- 
can enterprise  to  revive  them. 

All  but  Santa  Cruz  lie  within  the  parallels  180  and 
1 90  north  latitude;  64°  and  650  west  longitude,  and  are 
purely  tropical  in  character  and  surroundings.  The 
only  port  of  call  is  that  of  St.  Thomas,  where  the 
steamers  of  the  "  United  States  and  Brazil  Line  "  touch 
on  their  way  to  and  from  South  America.     The  voyage 

413 


414  IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

thither  from  the  United  States  consumes  five  days  from 
the  port  of  Newport  News,  and  six  from  New  York. 
Leaving  the  Northern  port  with  the  decks  covered  with 
snow  and  ice,  the  second  day  the  ice  has  disappeared; 
on  the  third  one  may  wander  about  without  wraps,  and 
by  the  fifth,  when  the  island  desired  is  sighted,  the 
mercury  has  climbed  to  8o°,  where  it  persistently  stays 
all  day,  when  allowed  to  remain  in  the  shade. 

It  may  be  night  when  the  steamer  arrives  at  the  har- 
bor of  St.  Thomas,  but  the  sweet  land-breeze  brings  off 
the  fragrance  of  a  thousand  flowers,  and  the  strange, 
pungent  odors  of  the  terrene  tropics,  and  you  know 
that  a  new  land  is  reached  at  last.  New  scenes  await 
you,  if  it  be  }-our  first  trip  to  the  tropics,  and  they  can- 
not but  interest  and  delight  you.  Arriving  at  the  har- 
bor in  the  night,  one  might  well  imagine  he  had  by 
mistake  been  brought  to  the  borders  of  the  infernal 
regions,  for  flaring  flambeaux  illumine  the  dark  waters, 
dusky  forms  glide  about  with  strange  and  discordant 
cries,  yells  and  whistlings.  A  weird  procession  of  black 
and  hideous  hags,  clad  in  ragged  raiment,  bearing  upon 
their  heads  great  baskets,  and  shuffling  clumsily  up  and 
clown  the  gang-planks,  has  established  connection  with 
the  shore,  and  is  supplying  the  steamer  with  coal.  It 
is  merely  an  episode  in  the  life  of  the  voyager;  but  it  is 
a  matter  of  great  importance  to  those  wretched  negresses, 
who  get  but  a  penny  a  basket  for  their  toil,  and  who  are 
always  ready,  by  night  and  by  day,  to  respond  to  the 
blast  of  the  great  horn  blown  by  the  contractor  from 
the  parapet  of  Blackbeard's  castle,  on  the  hill  across  the 
harbor. 


AMONG   THE   SAINTS   AND   THE   VIRGINS. 


415 


As  daylight  comes,  it  is  seen  what  a  beautiful  harbor 
is  this  of  St.  Thomas,  worthy  of  all  the  adjectives 
one  can  heap  upon  it — magnificent,  glorious,  gem-like; 
it  is  everything  except  hurricane-proof.  Hills  on  all 
sides  surround  it,  save  toward  the  southern  sea,  where 
the  entrance  lies  between  two  high  promontories  guarded 


THE  HABBOB  FROM  THE  FORT. 


by  ancient  forts.  Hills  behind  it,  sun-burnt  and  bare, 
look  down  upon  a  charming  town,  itself  built  upon 
three  elevations,  and  one  of  the  most  picturesque  places 
in  the  Caribbean  Sea.  One  rarely  hears  the  name  of 
this  town,  the  port  of  St.  Thomas,  but  it  is  called 
Charlotte  Amalia,  and  is  a  good  old-fashioned  settle- 
ment, clean  and  pretty,  with  straight  streets,  good  though 


416  IN   THE    WAKE    OF  COLUMBUS. 

decaying  wharves,  street  and  harbor  lights,  a  fine  police 
force,  a  stable  government  and  most  delightful  situa- 
tion. There  is  not  another  just  like  it  anywhere  for 
comfort  and  convenience,  and  it  fitly  supplements  the 
advantages  of  its  royal  harbor  as  a  place  of  call,  and 
even  detention,  for  the  naval  vessels  cruising  in  these 
seas. 

Almost  entirely  landlocked,  the  harbor  of  St.  Thomas 
has  room  for  two  hundred  vessels  to  lie  at  anchor;  it 
contains  a  marine  railway  and  a  floating  dock,  and  is  the 
last  resort  of  all  the  distressed  vessels  in  this  region.  It 
has  often  been  spoken  of  in  connection  with  the  establish- 
ing in  the  West  Indies  of  a  coaling  station  for  the  ves- 
sels of  the  United  States  navy.  Two  other  points  have 
claimed  attention:  Mole  St.  Nicolas,  on  the  coast  of 
Haiti,  and  Samana  Bay  in  Santo  Domingo.  The  first- 
named  has  some  advantages  not  possessed  by  the  others ; 
namely,  contiguity  to  the  great  channel  between  Cuba, 
Haiti  and  Jamaica,  and  the  consequent  command  of  the 
traffic  passing  through,  which  will  be  immensely  aug- 
mented after  the  construction  of  the  Nicaragua  Canal ; 
but  it  is  in  a  barren  and  barbarous  country,  and  there 
are  many  difficulties  in  the  way  of  its  acquisition,  the 
most  important  being  the  aversion  of  the  Haitiens  to 
the  alienation  of  any  of  their  territory. 

Samana  is  farther  east,  but  has  almost  equal  value  as 
a  strategic  position,  has  a  magnificent  harbor  with  deep 
water,  and  healthful  situation.  It  can  be  more  easily 
acquired  than  St.  Nicolas,  and  there  is  little  doubt  that 
the  whole  peninsula  could  be  purchased  outright. 

St.    Thomas,  however,  is  not  only  available,  without 


AMONG   THE   SAINTS   AND   THE   VIRGINS.  417 

any  clanger  of  international  complications,  but  it  is 
eager  and  anxious  to  come  under  the  protection  of  the 
United  States.  For  the  acquisition  of  St.  Thomas,  it 
would  only  be  necessary  to  appropriate  a  few  million 
dollars,  treat  with  Denmark  in  a  frank,  open  manner, 
and  the  island  (as  well  as  Santa  Cruz  and  St.  John's) 
would  become  American  property.  Unfortunately,  our 
Government  once  treated  with  Denmark  for  this  very 
possession;  the  treaty  was  not  only  ready  for  ratifica- 
tion, but  the  king  of  Denmark  had  taken  farewell  of  his 
loyal  subjects  and  virtually  given  up  the  island,  when 
occurred  one  of  those  humiliating  episodes  that  have 
more  than  once  made  America  a  byword  in  diplomatic 
circles. 

The  treaty  intention  was  ignored;  the  king  of  Den- 
mark had  the  humiliation  of  recalling  his  loyal  but 
disappointed  subjects,  and  the  attitude  of  the  home  gov- 
ernment toward  us  cannot  but  be  that  of  deep  resent- 
ment. As  it  stands  now,  Denmark,  though  anxious  to 
dispose  of  her  West  Indian  possessions,  cannot  take  the 
initiative,  having  been  once  insulted,  and  has  every 
reason  to  view  with  distrust  any  proposition  emanating 
from  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  even  should 
our  legislators  have  the  wisdom  to  move  for  their  acqui- 
sition. Among  the  people  of  the  islands  themselves, 
there  is  a  strong  desire  for  annexation  to  the  United 
States,  for  they  realize  that  such  union  means  renewed 
life  and  prosperity,  in  the  place  of  the  present  death- 
in-life  existence  they  are  forced  to  lead.  Even  among 
the  officials  there  is  the  same  strong  feeling  in  favor  of 
the  possession  of  the  islands  by  our  Government,  for  the 


418  IN   THE   WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

higher  officials  would  then  he  retired  on  pensions,  and 
the  soldiers  would  be  relieved  from  dangerous  and  irk- 
some duty  so  far  from  home.  At  present  the  govern- 
ment is  expensive,  somewhat  oppressive,  and  the  annual 
deficit  to  Denmark  rises  from  $50,000  to  $100,000.  For 
these  reasons,  the  inhabitants  of  St.  Thomas,  St.  John's 
and  Santa  Cruz  would  hail  with  joy  any  movement 
looking  toward  their  becoming  citizens  entitled  to  the 
protection  and  benefits  of  the  United  States.  They  do 
not  expect  the  rights  of  elective  franchise,  and  would 
be  content  with  a  form  of  government  somewhat  like 
our  territorial  administration,  desiring  only  to  partici- 
pate in  our  prosperity.  Such  a  government  as  we 
should  give  them  would  lessen  their  oppressive  taxes, 
allow  of  greater  freedom,  and  permit  of  their  unlim- 
ited expansion;  whereas  they  are  now  bound  by  the 
fetters  of  European  domination. 

The  society  here  in  Charlotte  Amalia  is  most  enjoy- 
able, though  the  few  members  composing  the  elite  are 
necessarily  exclusive,  and  restrict  the  privileges  to  the 
Danish  office-holders  and  leading  merchants.  But  it  is 
a  quaint  and  enjoyable  society  one  meets  here,  and  if, 
perchance,  the  island  ever  should  pass  under  the  Ameri- 
can flag,  it  will  be  a  long  while  before  the  social  status 
will  be  adjusted  on  the  prevailing  harmonious  basis  and 
along  the  present  lines. 

The  island  is  thirteen  miles  long  by  three  wide ;  de- 
serted plantations  and  barren  fields  cover  the  hills  and 
line  the  shores,  but  there  is  no  other  settlement  than 
Charlotte  Amalia,  with  its  population  of  some  twelve  or 
thirteen  thousand.      Most  of  the  inhabitants  are  black  or 


AMONG   THE   SAINTS   AND   THE   VIRGINS. 


419 


colored,  and  the  few  whites  live  on  the  hills  of  the  town. 
Government  Hill  is  the  center,  and  here  are  the  best 
houses,  though  there  are  fine  structures  on  and  about 
the  others.  The  only  level  street  runs  around  the 
shore  and  out  into  the  country,  while  the  other  thor- 


OLD    FORT   AT    ST.    THOMAS. 

oughfares,  aided  by  flights  of  stone  steps,  climb  up  and 
down  the  hills,  that  give  such  beautiful  views  over  the 
harbor,  and  where  the  breezes  always  play. 

Although  Danish  is  the  official  language,  yet  Eng- 
lish is  universally  spoken,  even  the  officials  using  it; 
while  reminders  of  what  St.  Thomas  used  to  be  when 
the  ships  of  all  nations  came  here,  and  trade  was  car- 
ried on  with   foreigners  of  every  kind,  are   constantly 


420  IN   THE   WAKE  OF   COLUMBUS. 

met  with  in  the  linguistic  attainments  of  all  classes. 
Scarcely  a  trader  or  merchant  here  that  cannot  speak  at 
least  three  or  four  tongues  beside  his  own,  and  even 
the  boys  in  the  streets  are  polyglots.  The  old  days, 
when  this  island  was  the  entrepot  of  all  the  others, 
when  merchants  sought  it  coming  from  Puerto  Rico 
and  Santo  Domingo  with  their  vessels  ballasted  with 
Mexican  dollars  to  be  exchanged  for  goods,  and 
silver  was  often  seen  wheeled  in  barrows  through  the 
streets  —  those  days  have  departed  never  to  return. 
And  yet,  the  fortunate  position  of  St.  Thomas  in  rela- 
tion to  the  easternmost  West  Indies  and  the  South 
American  ports  has  remained  unchanged;  only  the 
methods  of  doing  business  have  altered,  and  the  in- 
creased number  of  steamers  running  to  different  ports 
have  taken  from  the  island  the  importance  of  being 
a  distributing  center. 

As  a  valuable  site  for  a  coaling-station,  however, 
commanding  the  Caribbean  Sea  and  the  approaches  to 
the  east  coast  of  South  America,  it  still  possesses  the 
great  natural  advantages  with  which  the  Creator  origi- 
nally endowed  it ;  and  wise  will  be  the  Government  that 
takes  advantage  of  the  opportunity  afforded  for  its 
acquisition. 

The  only  drawback  to  the  purchase  of  the  Danish 
islands  is  the  fact  that  with  St.  Thomas  must  go  the 
island  of  Santa  Cruz,  which,  though  rich  and  pictur- 
esque, with  good  roads,  large  plantations,  and  a  popu- 
lation in  need  of  nothing  but  money  to  make  them 
prosperous,  yet  would  not  be  a  desirable  possession. 
St.  John's,  though  poor  and  comparatively  uninhabited, 


AMONG   THE   SAINTS   AND   THE   VIRGINS.  421 

has  at  least  one  good  harbor  in  which  large  vessels  can 
find  shelter,  and  has  an  importance  that  for  centuries 
has  been  overlooked. 

The  history  of  St.  Thomas,  of  its  perils  from  the 
pirates  of  the  sea,  from  the  roving  buccaneers  and  the 
adventurers  of  various  nations,  is  written  on  its  face. 
Upon  the  crests  of  two  hills  above  the  town  stand  two 
towers, called  respectively  "  Bluebeard's"  and  "  Black- 
beard's  "  castles.  They  may  have  once  been  occupied 
by  those  famous  pirates,  who  certainly  sailed  the  ad- 
joining seas,  and  tradition  has  it  that  vast  treasure  lies 
hidden  underneath  them ;  but  history  states  that  they 
were  built  by  the  Government,  about  the  year  1700. 
Perhaps  the  finest  view  of  the  harbor  and  the  island 
is  to  be  obtained  from  the  castle  known  as  "  Black- 
beard's,"  the  property  of  Mr.  Edward  Moron,  whose 
house,  adjacent,  is  the  abode  of  a  generous  hospitality. 

It  was  my  desire,  of  course,  to  obtain  the  co-operation 
of  the  Government  in  the  Exposition,  and  to  this  end 
the  American  Consul,  genial  Colonel  Home,  presented 
me  to  the  Governor,  General  Arendrup.  I  found  His 
Excellency  a  pleasant  and  shrewd  gentleman,  with  the 
Danish  desire  for  thrift,  who  listened  with  evident  in- 
terest to  the  statement  of  my  case;  but  who  was 
opposed  to  the  granting  by  his  Government  of  any  ap- 
propriation for  the  display  of  the  resources  of  the 
islands.  Although  drawing  a  princely  salary  himself, 
and  having  many  officials  under  him  magnificently 
reimbursed  for  their  absence  from  home  comforts,  he 
yet  professed  to  see  no  way  by  which  even  a  few 
thousand    dollars    could    be   raised    for    an    exhibit   at 


422  IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

Chicago.  Finally,  being  convinced  of  the  niggardliness 
of  the  Government,  and  the  total  lack  of  concern  for  the 
welfare  of  the  colony,  I  appealed  with  some  success  to 
the  merchants  of  the  town.  It  was  true,  as  the  Gov- 
ernor urged,  that  the  island  had  little  to  send,  having 
few  native  products,  and  no  industries.  But,  knowing 
the  desire  of  the  people  to  make  known  the  advantages 
of  their  island  as  a  winter  resort,  and  its  desirability  as  a 
coaling-station,  I  recommended  that  a  large  model,  or 
relief-map,  be  prepared,  showing  the  glorious  harbor, 
the  surrounding  hills,  the  town,  the  tropical  vegetation — 
in  a  word,  a  small  exposition  of  the  island  visible  at  a 
glance,  that  should  convey  to  the  world  at  large  an  ade- 
quate picture  of  its  beauty  and  advantages.  This  idea 
was  applauded,  and  several  of  the  merchants  promised 
the  necessary  funds  for  the  purpose.  It  was  next  neces- 
sary to  secure  the  talent  for  producing  the  map :  a  difficult 
thing  in  a  community  where  there  is  no  uplifting  public 
sentiment  and  example  for  the  encouragement  of  art  or 
literature. 

Fortunately,  there  was  one  in  whom  the  divine  spark 
of  genius  was  glowing  with  fervor,  whose  life  had 
fitted  him  for  the  very  work  I  had  projected,  and 
whose  patriotism  was  equal  to  the  demands  about  to  be 
made  upon  it.  Dr.  C.  E.  Taylor,  though  an  English- 
man by  birth,  and  a  Dane  by  adoption,  who  had  the 
only  bookstore  in  St.  Thomas,  and  who  was  a  member 
of  the  General  Council,  came  to  my  assistance.  He 
volunteered  to  reproduce  the  harbor,  drawn  to  a  scale, 
and  in  such  a  shape  as  to  be  attractive  to  the  general 
observer  as  well  as  valuable  to  the  scientist.      With  fhe 


AMONG   THE   SAINTS   AND   THE   VIRGINS.  4li8 

assistance  of  his  son,  a  boy  of  sixteen,  but  who  had 
already  given  proof  of  artistic  ability,  he  set  to  work, 
and  after  six  months  of  hard  labor,  in  the  intervals  of 
his  business,  he  produced  a  relief  model  of  the  hills  and 
harbor  that  will  challenge  the  criticism  of  the  world. 
Thus,  without  the  aid  of  the  impecunious  Government, 
and  by  the  unassisted  effort  of  native  talent,  my  friend 
has  evoked  a  work  that  will  comprehensively  show  the 
many  and  varied  attractions  of  the  island  at  a  glance. 

Dr.  Taylor,  as  I  have  indicated,  is  a  genius,  having 
turned  his  hand  to  many  things,  during  his  varied  and 
checkered  career,  and  having  accomplished  things  that 
would  have  discouraged  any  one  of  less  heroic  mold. 

If  one  will  climb  the  hill  behind  to  its  crest,  he  will 
have  before  him,  and  in  fact  all  around  him,  such  a 
panorama  of  sea  and  water  views  as  is  opened  out  to 
one  very  seldom  in  a  lifetime.  The  whole  island  is  in 
sight  —  a  perfect  gem;  its  facets  almost  gleaming  be- 
neath the  intense  light  of  the  tropical  sun.  Brown  and 
bare  as  it  is,  5^et  the  island  has  a  beauty  of  an  appealing 
sort,  and  one  delights  in  the  visions  of  the  others  of  the 
Virgin  group,  rising  at  varying  distances  from  this,  out 
of  the  sapphire  sea.  Santa  Cruz  is  forty  miles  away, 
and  cloud-like  on  the  horizon;  nearer  by  is  St.  John's; 
beyond  are  Tortola  and  Virgin  Gorda,  all  islands  that 
have  played  no  inconspicuous  parts  in  the  world's  his- 
tory, yet  now  neglected  and  alone,  lying  there  lifeless  on 
the  bosom  of  the  shining  sea,  wrapped  in  the  memories 
of  the  past. 

I  went  to  St.  John's  one  day,  and  there  revisited  the 
scenes  of  some  old  hunting  excursions  made  in   1880, 


424 


IN    THE    WAKE    OF    COLUMBUS. 


when  I  was  investigating  the  bird-life  of  these  islands. 
It  is  a  beautiful  island,  covered  all  over  with  fragrant 
bay  and  spice-trees,  with  countless  beaches  of  snow- 
white  sand,  and  with  every  requisite  that  nature  can 
furnish  for  a  free,  wild  life ;  yet  this  island  is  now  well- 
nigh  abandoned.  My  friends  of  twelve  years  before 
had  departed,  and,  except  the  police  justice  and  local 
magistrate,  there  is  scarcely  a  white  inhabitant  on  the 


BUCCANEER    CANNON.  —  ST.    JOHN'S. 


island.  In  the  scant  woods  are  beautiful  birds,  and  in 
the  ravines  I  used  to  find  wild  pigeons  and  doves.  Over 
on  the  windward  side  is  a  secluded  bay,  where  the  an- 
cient Caribs  lived,  before  the  white  men  came  here, and 
who  left  evidences  of  their  one-time  residence  in  rude 
carvings  on  the  rocks;  such  as  the  figures  of  men,  a 
rudely  incised  cross,  and  strange  characters. 

Scattered  about  the  island  are  old  cannon,  relics  of 


AMONG   THE    SAINTS    AND    THE   VIRGINS.  425 

the  buccaneer  times,  when  the  landlocked  and  hidden 
bays  gave  them  shelter  from  French  and  Spanish 
cruisers.  Over  in  the  forsaken  island  of  Tortola  I 
found  two  small  cannon  that  once  belonged  to  the 
pirates,  and  sent  them  to  the  Exposition.  In  this 
latter  island  are  but  two  white  inhabitants,  the  Gov- 
ernor and  the  doctor,  and  the  only  cultivation  of  any 
importance  is  the  recently  undertaken  industry  of  rais- 
ing the  Sisal  hemp.  Tortola  once  had  a  peculiar  coin- 
age of  its  own,  created  by  stamping  the  coins  of  other 
countries  with  its  signature,  a  rude  counterstamp  that 
makes  a  very  effective  and  distinctive  mark.  These 
coins  are  now  scarce,  but  I  secured  a  few,  notwith- 
standing that  the  Governor  had  made  a  "corner"  in 
the  market,  and  it  is  over  a  hundred  years  since  they 
were  produced. 

There  comes  an  end  to  all  things,  and  even  a  sea 
voyage  is  no  exception;  but  when  you  are  cruising 
among  islands,  one  sea  voyage  only  begets  another; 
your  steamer  leaves  the  waves  of  the  turbulent  Atlantic 
only  to  disturb  the  bosom  of  the  Caribbean  Sea. 

I  sailed  into  St.  Thomas  only  to  sail  out  again,  after 
a  short  stay.  But  I  made  the  most  of  my  opportuni- 
ties, and  learned  the  many  good  points  of  this  island. 
I  found  out  the  cool  and  sandy  beaches  for  my  early 
morning  bath,  where  I  could  disport  myself  unmolested 
beneath  the  cocoanut-trees.  I  found  the  best  points  of 
view  on  the  hill-summits,  and  I  soon  ascertained  that  a 
pleasant  stroll  of  an  afternoon  was  out  toward  the  tennis 
grounds  between  the  hour  of  five  and  the  cool  interval 
just  preceding  dusk  and  dinner. 


XXI. 

AN    ISLAND    QUITE    OUT    OF    THE    WORLD. 

SABA,  the  northernmost  sentinel  of  the  volcanic 
islands  composing  the  Caribbean  chain,  lay  right 
abeam  at  last.  The  sloop  that  had  brought  me  thus  far 
from  St.  Thomas  was  to  continue  on  to  St.  Kitt's,  but 
the  captain  had  promised  to  drop  me  at  Saba,  as  he 
passed.  Preparations  were  hastily  made ;  the  boat  was 
swung  over  the  side,  my  luggage  stowed  in  it,  and  this, 
with  the  three  men  at  the  oars,  filled  it  to  overflowing. 

By  that  time  it  was  dark,  though  a  silver  semblance 
of  a  moon  had  caught  enough  of  the  sun's  reflections  to 
light  us  dimly  on  our  way.  The  great  billows  heaved 
me  up  and  down,  the  wind  blew  fitfully  from  out  the 
gorges  that  split  the  mountain-island,  and  a  sea-bird 
shrieked  shrilly  as  it  flew  by  on  its  way  to  land.  Black 
and  frowning  walls  rose  straight  up  ahead  of  us,  with  a 
narrow  rim  of  bowlders  at  their  base  over  which  the  sea 
dashed  in  great  black  waves.  Nearly  a  thousand  feet 
above  us  a  light  gleamed  from  a  hut,  but  beneath  all 
was  darkness,  for  not  a  soul  lived  below  the  cliffs. 

It  was  impossible  to  run  the  boat  through  the  billows 
unaided;  for  all  the  fishermen  had  retired  to  the  hills 

426 


AN   ISLAND    QUITE   OUT   OF   THE   WORLD.        427 

to  sleep,  so  my  crew  lay  upon  their  oars  and  sent  their 
voices  out  into  the  darkness.  "Come  down!  Come 
down!  Come  down  !  "  they  shouted.  No  one  replied. 
The  waves  alone  sent  back  a  hoarse  refrain,  and  a  night 
heron,  fishing  among  the  rocks,  answered  with  derisive 
croaks  as  he  flapped  his  heavy  wings  and  sped  away. 
Each  man  tried  his  best,  and  then  all  united  in  one 
great  and  prolonged  shout.  Hark !  Was  that  merely 
the  echo  of  the  last  effort  ?  We  repeated  the  cry,  and 
immediately  there  followed  a  faint  response  —  faint  and 
hoarse,  but  most  unmistakably  a  reply. 

For  nearly  half  an  hour  longer  we  lay  there  on  our 
oars,  listening  to  the  waves,  and  to  the  signs  of  life  and 
approaching  deliverance,  manifested  in  the  showers  of 
gravel  and  stones  rattling  down  the  cliffs,  disturbed  by 
those  who  had  answered  our  hail.  By  this  time  the 
moon  had  followed  the  sun  in  his  descent,  and  had 
buried  herself  in  the  same  watery  grave,  sharing  with 
him  the  embraces  of  the  ocean.  And  when  the  moon 
retires  she  leaves  no  light  this  side  the  curtain  of  night, 
save  that  of  the  stars.  These  were  all  out  to  keep  their 
vigil:  stars  of  the  North  and  stars  of  the  South  —  Orion 
and  the  Southern  Cross;  yet  their  united  gleams  were 
not  more  than  sufficient  to  show  us  the  figures  of  two 
human  beings,  indistinct  as  ghosts  yet  black  as  demons, 
awaiting  us  in  the  surf. 

' '  Come  in,  now.  Steady !  Out  with  you,  quick ! 
Run  to  the  bow,  sir.  Jump,  jump !  don't  wait !  Here !  " 
All  this  was  uttered  in  a  breath  by  the  waiting  negroes 
on  the  rocks,  as  we  turned  our  boat  head  on,  and  shot 
with  terrific  speed  upon  the  shore. 


428  IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

In  an  instant  the  waves  were  foaming  round  us  as  the 
boat  touched  the  stones  and  rested  a  second,  quivering ; 
another,  and  strong  hands  had  seized  her,  strong  arms 
lifted  and  guided  her  in,  as  the  next  wave  hurled 
her  on. 

I  leaped  to  the  bow,  as  directed,  scrambled  over  guns 
and  trunks,  and  a  mighty  wave  came  rolling  in  just  as  I 
started,  the  crest  of  it  striking  me  sharply  on  the  back, 
and  assisting  me  so  well  that  I  landed  high  on  the  rocks 
without  other  help.  But  at  the  same  time  it  deluged 
my  goods,  and  this  promised  to  be  of  more  serious  mo- 
ment than  the  injury  to  my  person.  In  a  twinkling, 
those  stalwart  blacks  unloaded  the  boat,  and  carried  my 
things  beyond  the  reach  of  the  sea;  in  five  minutes  or 
so  the  boat  was  back  on  the  breast  of  a  wave,  and  I  was 
left  alone  with  two  strange  black  men,  whose  faces, 
even,  I  had  never  seen. 

Then,  in  the  darkness,  with  the  wind  and  waves  roar- 
ing in  my  ears,  I  began  to  realize  the  situation  I  was  in, 
the  exigencies  of  which  had  prevented  me  from  ade- 
quately comprehending  it. 

During  the  past  two  days  I  had  eaten  but  one  meal, 
of  sea-soaked  biscuit;  I  was  so  weak  I  could  hardly 
stand,  now  that  the  excitement  of  the  landing  had 
passed;  hence,  I  was  not  in  the  most  favorable  con- 
dition for  climbing  to  the  top  of  the  precipice,  where 
alone  I  could  find  shelter  and  a  bed.  In  fact,  in  my 
weakness,  I  preferred  to  sleep  on  the  rocks  till  morning ; 
but  the  urgent  appeals  of  the  negroes  finally  induced 
me  to  change  my  mind  and  try  the  ascent. 

This  island  of  Saba  owes  its  reputation  chiefly  to  the 


AN   ISLAND   QUITE   OUT   OF   THE   WORLD.        429 

difficulty  of  reaching-  it.  It  has  no  harbor,  no  roadstead, 
even,  and  no  landing-place  that  in  any  civilized  country 
would  be  dignified  with  that  name.  The  people  who 
inhabit  this  half-submerged  mountain  take  their  lives 
in  their  hands  oftener,  I  presume,  than  those  of  any 
other  island  in  these  seas.  They  dare  the  sirens  of  the 
sea,  tempt  fate,  and  run  the  risk  of  a  watery  grave, 
nearly  every  time  they  leave  or  return  to  their  island 
home.  There  are  but  two  points  at  the  base  of  this 
mountain  at  which  a  boat  can  land:  one  is  called  the 
Fort,  used  only  when  the  wind  is  well  to  the  north  and 
west;  the  other,  at  which  I  had  landed,  is  known  as  the 
Ladder;  this,  though  worse  than  the  other,  is  oftenest 
used,  as  it  is  sheltered  from  the  prevailing  wind. 

I  had  heard  fearful  stories  about  this  Ladder.  It 
was  said  to  be  so  steep  that  only  the  natives  could 
climb  it;  that  all  visitors  had  to  be  carried  up  on  their 
backs ;  that  the  ascent  could  only  be  accomplished  by 
the  aid  of  ropes,  and  that  some  even  required  to  be 
pulled  up  in  a  basket.  These  stories  vaguely  flitted 
through  my  brain  as  I  thought  of  the  terrible  ascent 
before  me,  in  my  exhausted  state ;  and  it  was  with  some 
trepidation  that  I  committed  myself  to  the  guidance  of 
one  of  the  men,  and  set  my  face  skyward. 

I  will  not  detail  the  events  of  that  dreadful  climb. 
It  was  one  continued,  laborious  effort  for  nearly  an 
hour,  up  an  incline  so  steep  that  the  roof  of  an  ordinary 
house  would  have  been  easy  walking  in  comparison. 
The  stones  loosened  by  my  feet  fell  straight  down  to 
the  beach;  and  this  sort  of  climbing  continued  to  the 
bitter    end,    the    trail    zigzagging   and    doubling   upon 


430 


IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 


itself,  beneath  impending  rocks  seemingly  all  ready  to 
fall,  and  along  the  brink  of  precipices  which  I  after- 
ward saw  by  daylight  only  to  shudder  at.  After  a 
perpendicular  lift  of  over  seven  hundred  feet,  I  felt  like 
rolling  over  the   cliffs,  and   long  before   the   top    was 

reached  I  could  have 
wished  old  Saba  sunk 
in  the  sea.  The  dark- 
ness was  dense,  but  the 
steady  hand  of  my 
guide  prevented  me 
from  slipping,  and  at 
last  we  reached  a  point 
whence  the  narrow 
path  wound  among  the 
rocks  at  an  easy  grade. 
At  the  first  house  we 
passed  a  large  crowd 
had  congregated  to 
learn  the  news.  My 
guide  committed  me  to 
a  boy  in  the  crowd, 
and  returned  to  the 
seaside.  This  boy  led 
me  to  the  house  of  the  harbor-master  of  this  port 
without  a  harbor,  and  he,  after  a  long  catechising  as 
to  my  business,  my  intentions  and  my  respectability, 
permitted  me  to  remain  and  to  sleep  on  the  floor. 
Previous  to  retiring  I  walked  out  with  my  host  into  the 
little  garden,  and  in  doing  so  stumbled  over  a  long, 
low,  white  object,  which  proved  by  daylight  to  be  a  tomb 


THE   LADDER. 


AN   ISLAND   QUITE   OUT   OF   THE   WORLD.        431 

of  mason  work,  covering  a  shallow  grave.  This  custom 
of  interring  their  dead  in  their  gardens  is  a  touching 
proof  of  affection,  in  a  place  where  soil  is  so  scarce,  and 
garden-space  so  valuable.  For  I  am  sure  if  all  the 
people  of  Saba  should  die  at  one  time,  there  would  not 
be  enough  soil  to  bury  them  in.  It  may  be  considered 
fortunate  that  the  majority  of  the  inhabitants  are  sea- 
faring men,  and  die  away  from  home. 

In  the  morning  I  went  out  for  a  walk,  and  was  sur- 
prised to  see,  directly  in  front  of  me,  a  very  steep 
hill;  east  of  it  another,  and  to  the  west  another.  In 
truth,  this  little  town  of  "Bottom"  is  completely  sur- 
rounded by  hills,  with  one  opening  to  the  east  and  one 
to  the  west,  through  which  only  the  inhabitants  reach 
the  ocean.  It  is  eight  hundred  and  sixty  feet  above  the 
sea,  and  occupies  the  leveled  surface  of  a  vast  mass  of 
debris  that  ages  since  filled  the  crater  of  an  extinct  vol- 
cano. I  do  not  know  how  many  houses  there  are,  but 
there  are  not  many.  Each  one  is  painted  white,  with 
low,  red  roof,  and  each  is  in  the  center  of  a  diminutive 
garden  filled  with  rocks.  The  streets  are  merely  nar- 
row foot-paths,  walled  in  between  great  piles  of  rocks 
and  stones,  so  that  in  many  places  the  walls  o'er-topped 
my  head.  A  profusion  of  cactus,  vines  and  prickly- 
pears  covered  these  walls,  among  which,  and  across 
these  most  devious  lanes,  darted  tiny  gilt-capped  hum- 
ming-birds, yellow-breasts  and  sparrows,  playing  at 
hide-and-seek. 

The  captain  and  myself  (all  old  men  are  captains 
here)  walked  out  in  the  cool  of  the  morning.  We  went 
down  one  lane  and  up  another,  around  one  corner  and 


432  IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

then  another,  but  never  in  a  straight  line,  nor  ever  over 
a  level  path,  until  we  came  to  a  neat  little  cottage,  with 
its  front  yard  filled  with  limes,  crotons  and  trumpet 
flowers,  and  along  its  flagged  entrance  were  wooden 
benches,  most  inviting  to  sit  upon.  A  meek  and  mel- 
ancholy woman  bade  us  enter,  and  with  her  the  captain 
quickly  arranged  for  my  board.  Then  he  went  with  me 
to  visit  the  Governor,  who  was  a  Dutchman,  but  spoke 
English.  He  received  us  kindly,  and  speedily  granted 
me  permission  to  hunt  in  the  island,  waiving  the  cus- 
tomary payment  of  two  guilders  for  such  a  privilege. 
The  good  man  thereupon  retired  to  his  private  room, 
after  a  little  while  returning  and  handing  me  a  paper 
that  would,  he  said,  be  my  protection  from  the  police, 
who,  four  in  number,  ranged  the  island,  seeking  what 
they  might  devour. 

It  was  a  passport ;  it  was  in  Dutch,  and  it  sufficed. 

I  lived  for  ten  days  in  this  quaint  little  town,  in  the 
bed  of  the  crater,  nine  hundred  feet  above  the  sea. 
From  its  elevation  the  heat  is  never  very  oppressive, 
though  a  walk  from  the  landing  to  the  top,  with  the  sun 
pegging  away  at  your  back,  is  likely  to  create  a  contrary 
impression.  But  the  thermometer  maintains  a  steady 
pace,  from  about  seventy  degrees  at  night  to  eighty  at 
noon,  and  it  was  rather  monotonous  writing  down  the 
record,  one  day  was  so  like  another. 

One  cannot  walk  in  any  direction  without  going  up  or 
down  hill,  hence  the  numerous  ladies  of  Saba  rarely 
take  exercise.  There  are  some  even  who  have  never 
left  their  crater  home,  or  ever  been  to  the  seaside.  For 
them  a  voiage  to  St.  Kitt's,  some  forty  miles  away,  is  a 


>> 


AN   ISLAND    QUITE   OUT   OF   THE    WORLD.        435 

great  event ;  though  their  husbands,  fathers  and  brothers 
voyage  to  every  part  of  the  navigable  globe.  Such  love 
have  these  sailors  for  their  sea-girt  home  that  they  return 
to  it  whenever  opportunity  offers,  and  after  they  have 
earned  a  competency  rarely  take  up  their  residence  any- 
where else.  The  white  people  of  Saba  are  in  greater 
number  proportionally  to  the  blacks  than  in  any  other 
island  of  the  West  Indies.  They  all  have  fair  skins 
and  rosy  complexions,  with  some  freckles,  but  with  little 
tan,  while  there  is  a  predominance  of  tow-heads  among 
the  juvenile  population.  White  boys,  with  flaxen  hair, 
pug  noses,  wide  mouths  and  sky-blue  eyes,  showing 
their  Dutch  origin,  mingled  freely  with  the  blacks,  all 
on  terms  of  perfect  equality.  With  them  also  were 
those  of  other  complexions :  brown,  yellow  and  choco- 
late; these  form  the  connecting  links  between  the  two 
races,  and  are  by  far  the  most  insolent  and  haughty  in 
their  bearing. 

Notwithstanding  all  its  difficulties  of  access  and  its 
isolation,  this  island  possesses,  with  its  cool  climate,  its 
tropical  fruits  growing  in  a  temperate  atmosphere,  and 
its  pretty  maidens,  with  clear  complexions  and  flaxen 
hair,  so  many  attractions  for  the  Saba  sailor,  that  he 
never  elsewhere  finds  a  land  he  likes  so  well,  and  ever 
returns  to  it  at  the  end  of  his  voyages. 

I  made  the  ascent  of  the  peak  of  Saba  the  first  day 
that  it  was  free  from  the  fog-clouds  that  poured  over 
and  enwreathed  it  from  the  Atlantic.  With  its  grand 
sweep  from  peak  to  ocean,  the  brown  rock-ribbed  hills 
that  rose  higher  and  higher,  the  great  gorges  that  ex- 
tended from  its  lateral  ridges  down  to  the  broadening 


436  IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

ravines,  and,  finally,  its  perpetually-verdant  coronet  of 
tree-ferns,  mountain  palms,  and  all  the  moisture-loving 
plants  that  inhabit  this  tropical  border  land,  it  was  a 
picture  for  an  artist  to  view. 

At  daylight  it  rained ;  it  was  cold,  and  the  fog  swept 
over  the  ridges  in  volumes  of  mist  that  obscured  the 
trail.  We  passed  from  the  town  underneath  jutting 
cliffs,  crossing  a  narrow  ridge  and  entering  a  little  val- 
ley where  the  fertile  washings  from  the  cone  had  accu- 
mulated in  pockets  in  and  among  the  great  volcanic 
rocks  that  had  been  shot  down,  or  upheaved,  ages  ago. 
If  one  should  need  a  lesson  in  the  economy  of  soil,  he 
would  find  it  here,  where  every  available  foot  was  culti- 
vated. The  little  vale  was  apportioned  into  diminutive 
gardens,  by  walls  of  stones  gathered  from  the  surface; 
even  the  path  through  which  we  walked  was  walled  in, 
leaving  a  walk  like  a  ditch,  between  high  embankments, 
covered  with  a  host  of  beautiful  plants,  growing  wild. 
It  was  a  pleasure  to  walk  there,  not  only  to  view  the 
varying  flora,  but  to  contemplate  the  primitive  simplicity 
in  which  man  here  lived  and  carried  on  the  cultivation 
of  the  earth.  These  people,  thought  I,  are  to  be  envied, 
for  they  are  in  perpetual  possession  of  the  pleasures  of 
childhood  —  these  small  gardens  being  scarcely  more 
than  the  little  spots  tilled  by  children  in  other  lands, 
and  to  which  man  in  his  memory  continually  reverts  as 
to  a  time  when  he  owned  the  riches  of  the  earth.  Here 
in  this  valley,  hemmed  in  by  hills  and  in  a  measure  pro- 
tected from  hurricanes,  are  raised  the  principal  vege- 
tables used  in  the  island,  and  shipped  to  St.  Thomas. 
The  great  elevation  of  more  than  fifteen  hundred  feet 


v. 


AN   ISLAND   QUITE   OUT   OF   THE   WORLD.        439 

above  the  sea,  with  its  consequent  coolness  and  moisture, 
gives  it  a  climate  equal  to  that  of  a  remove  of  twenty 
degrees  farther  to  the  northward,  where  potatoes  (which 
cannot  be  raised  below),  cabbages,  corn,  and  even  straw- 
berries, may  grow  in  perfection. 

Inquiring  about  a  trail  to  the  mountain-top,  we  were 
promptly  assured  that  there  was  none,  and  that  nobody 
knew  the  way  to  the  summit.  This  I  regarded  as  an 
encouraging  reply,  because  the  very  ignorance  in  re- 
spect to  the  high  forest  argued  no  end  of  possibilities  in 
the  matter  of  new  birds  and  plants,  so  dear  to  the  heart 
of  a  naturalist.  Leaving  the  last  house,  we  ascended 
through  the  ever-deepening  gloom  of  fog,  through  gar- 
dens fertile  as  those  below,  and  again  across  ravines 
choked  with  wonders  of  tropic  growth,  and  through 
gullies  thick  with  wild  bananas  and  plantains,  that 
could  be  traced  in  lines  up  the  mountain  side.  Every 
available  inch  was  planted,  clear  to  the  forest,  and  even 
the  pocket  of  earth  caught  in  the  hollow  of  a  rock  dis- 
played its  broad  caladium  leaf,  or  gave  root  to  the  vine 
of  the  sweet  potato,  with  its  flower  like  that  of  a  morn- 
ing-glory. From  an  inclosure  here  and  there,  a  cow 
looked  out,  or  a  calf,  sleek  and  well-fed,  from  eating 
the  wild  grass  and  leaves  of  the  plantain  and  trumpet- 
tree. 

Climbing  a  steep  slope,  we  entered  a  wilderness  —  not 
a  parched  and  barren  one,  but  a  wilderness  of  plants. 
Words  of  mine  cannot  describe  the  scene  that  the 
partially-lifted  veil  of  fog  disclosed  to  me.  It  was  a 
view  that  repaid  all  the  exertion,  that  checked  my  mur- 
murs at   the   unpropitious  weather,  and  drew  from  me 


440  IN   THE    WAKE    OF   COLUMBUS. 

exclamations  of  wonder  and  joy.  I  had  been  somewhat 
prepared  by  the  sight  of  occasional  clumps  of  tree-ferns 
and  picturesque  masses  of  broad-leaved  "China"  plants, 
for  an  exhibition  of  something  beautiful,  but  had  not 
thought  it  possible  to  find  grouped  together  such  a 
variety  of  ferns  and  mosses,  air-plants,  begonias  and 
arums. 

Here  the  tree-ferns,  which  could  be  seen  from  town, 
forming  a  long  line  against  the  sky,  with  their  grace- 
ful groups  delicately  outlined,  or  massed  together  in 
the  gorges,  in  undistinguishable  greens,  rose  above  and 
around  us.  The  tree-fern  is  one  of  the  few  plants  that 
preserves  its  beauty  everywhere  and  under  all  condi- 
tions, at  all  distances.  There  is,  in  my  opinion,  hardly 
anything  so  lovely  in  nature,  that  is  not  dependent  solely 
upon  color  for  effect,  as  the  tree-fern.  It  has  an  ex- 
quisite delicacy  of  form  and  airy  tracery  of  filminess  in 
those  glorious  fronds  that  are  spread  between  one  and 
the  sky;  the  supporting  stems  possess  such  graceful 
curves,  bending  apparently  to  the  breezes,  yet  ever 
bearing  their  fretted  crowns  securely  aloft.  They  give 
one  only  the  perfect  outline  of  their  stems,  at  times, 
and  again  are  clothed  from  head  to  foot  in  a  wealth  of 
air-plants  that  add,  if  possible,  beauty  to  beauty,  yet 
always  retaining  the  best  attainable  pose,  full  of  ex- 
pression and  animation. 

I  hastened  on,  up  through  the  deepening  forest. 
Every  tree  and  vine  was  dripping  great  drops ;  my  legs, 
despite  their  canvas  leggings,  were  soaked,  and  my  hat 
of  papyrus  pith,  made  only  for  fair  weather  and  the  sun, 
was  soon  soggy,  and  drooped  about  my  ears.     We  halted 


AN    ISLAND    QUITE    OUT   OF   THE    WORLD.        441 

for  a  bit  in  a  little  opening  where  the  mountain  palms 
formed  a  perfect  canopy  above  us,  and  then  I  was  first 
made  aware  of  the  absence  of  one  of  our  number,  a  col- 
ored man,  who  had  joined  himself  to  me  the  first  day  of 
my  arrival,  and  had  followed  in  the  rear  of  every  excur- 
sion since.  He  had  an  unpronounceable  name,  but  as  it 
sounded  somewhat  like  that  of  the  great  French  natural- 
ist, I  called  him  Cuvier.  Cuvier,  then,  was  absent,  and 
though  we  shouted,  and  disturbed  the  leafy  sanctuary 
to  the  extent  of  our  lungs,  yet  no  response  came  to  our 
cries.  It  may  as  well  be  remarked  that  Cuvier  was  not 
lost,  for  it  later  developed  that  he  had  descended  a 
more  facile  path  to  the  ravine,  in  search  of  snails,  rather 
than  climb  the  rugged  cliff  to  the  top  of  the  mountain. 

Then  the  real  labor  began ;  the  guide  went  ahead  and 
slashed  with  his  cutlass  a  narrow  path,  while  I  broke 
down  with  my  broad,  hobnailed  shoes  such  bushes  and 
limbs  as  were  left.  Progressing  painfully  and  slowly, 
we  passed  through  such  collections  of  orchids  as  would 
have  driven  a  botanist  wild,  and  through  such  effects 
of  leaf  and  vine  and  flower  as  made  me  despair  of 
adequately  depicting  them  to  my  friends,  and  caused 
me  to  sigh  for  sunshine  and  my  camera;  in  fact,  I  re- 
solved to  return  and  enrich  myself  with  negatives  of 
this  glorious  vegetation. 

Finally  we  saw  a  glimpse  of  light  ahead  —  a  little 
speck  of  fog-covered  sky,  through  the  tops  of  the  palm- 
trees —  and  pushed  for  it.  There  was  more  cutting 
and  slashing,  more  neck-deep  plunges  into  pitfalls  cov- 
ered with  wet  and  slippery  broad-leaved  plants,  and 
frantic  scramblings  over   quaking   beds  of   orchideous 


U'2 


IN    THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 


CACAO    FRUIT. 


vegetation,  then,  mounting  upon  a  great  rock,  we  looked 
down  the  mountain  side.  We  reached  the  peak,  as 
the  roar  of  the  windward  surf  informed  us,  but  it  was 
in  vain  that  I  sought  to  penetrate  and  look  beyond 
the  billows  of  fog  that  surged  against  the  mountain 
side,  condensing  now  and  then  into  vapor.  Below  and 
immediately  about  us,  we  looked  upon   a  level-topped 

sea  of  verdure,  spread 

over  the   cone    like  a 

wonderfully -tape  s- 

tried  carpet,  embossed 

with     the     fronds     of 

magnificent     palms, 

the     laced     witchery 

of    tree  -  fern    leaves, 

brown   rocks   and  the 

broad   leaves  of    wild  plantains.      The  great  mountain 

swept  up  from  below  in  waving  lines,  drawn  to  a  focus 

at  the  point  on  which  we  stood. 

What  an  added  value  would  this  achievement  have 
possessed,  had  the  day  been  clear  and  the  islands  in 
sight  that  gem  these  northern  waters  of  the  Caribbean! 
From  occasional  views  at  lower  elevations,  I  knew  what 
I  should  have  seen:  east  of  me  lay  St.  Bart's,  with 
St.  Martin's  and  Anguilla  forming  an  isolated  group  of 
islands,  and  lying  between  the  Virgins  and  St.  Eustatius. 
The  latter  island  was  right  beneath  me,  and  not  far  from 
St.  Kitt's,  which  in  turn  nearly  joins  the  cone  of  Nevis, 
and  this,  again,  backed  by  the  purple  clouds  of  Montser- 
rat,  though  eighty  miles  to  the  south ;  while  away  north 
might  be  descried,  perhaps,  St.  Thomas  and  Santa  Cruz. 


AN   ISLAND   QUITE   OUT   OF   THE    WORLD.        443 

From  all  appearances,  we  were  the  first,  at  least  for 
years,  to  visit  this  spot,  for  there  were  no  traces  of  a 
trail,  no  scarred  trees,  no  limbs  broken  by  the  hand  of 
man;  all  was  in  the  primitive  state  that  might  have 
existed  since  the  first  throes  of  the  volcano.  Soon  a 
tremendous  burst  of  wind  and  rain  drove  us  to  the 
shelter  of  the  palms,  and,  as  there  was  no  promise  of  a 
clearer  view  that  day,  we  reluctantly  began  the  descent. 
Emerging  from  the  wood  of  mountain  palms,  we  reached 
at  last  the  upper  "provision  grounds  "  of  a  deep  ravine 
called  "Martinique  Gut,"  where  the  dwarf  bananas 
struggled  with  decaying  trees  and  picturesque  parasites. 

The  most  conspicuous  tree  here  was  a  great  "trum- 
pet, "  clothed  from  root  to  crown  in  an  immense  envelope 
of  vines,  forming  a  whole 
forest  by  itself,  with  its 
attendant  vines,  air-plants 
and  parasites.  Among  its 
branches  were  humming- 
birds, thrushes  and  "trem- 
bleurs, "  that  came  down  to 
earth  at  my  call;  some  of  bread-fruit. 

them  now  form  specimens 

in  the  Government  museum,  at  Washington.  I  here 
determined  the  limit,  or  northern  range,  of  the  beauti- 
ful garnet-throated  humming-bird,  and  on  another  day 
I  hunted  down  a  curious  bird  called  the  "Wedrigo, " 
which  I  think  is  identical  with  the  Jablotiu,  or  Devil 
Bird,  of  the  islands  to  the  south. 

As  we  descended  the  ridge  leading  to  the  hamlet,  we 
met  a  long  line  of   negroes  climbing  the  hill,  bearing 


444  IN    THE   WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

upon  their  heads  the  cargo  of  a  sloop  that  had  just 
arrived.  Everything  from  abroad  comes  up  to  the  vil- 
lage on  the  heads  of  the  people.  Each  man  carried  a 
hundred  pounds  on  his  head,  climbing  the  steep  cliffs 
easily,  and  taking  his  load  to  the  farthest  hamlet,  a 
distance  of  three  miles,  and  with  a  perpendicular  ascent 
of  one  thousand  three  hundred  feet.  A  barrel  of  flour 
is  divided,  one  half  put  into  a  sack,  and  thus  carried 
from  beach  to  village. 

One  day  I  went  in  search  of  the  famous  sulphur 
mine,  on  the  windward  side  of  the  island,  wending  my 
way  eastward  and  northward,  always  climbing  up  or 
scrambling  down,  around  angles  in  the  path  that  revealed 
the  grandest  of  sea  views,  skirting  precipices  that  rose 
above  and  descended  far  beneath  us,  until  I  reached  a 
deep  and  narrow  gorge. 

Here  was  the  gateway  to  the  sulphur  mine  and  the 
entrance  to  Inferno.  Impressed  upon  the  rock  was  the 
shape  of  an  immense  hand,  which  the  natives  declare  is 
the  Devil's  hoof,  and,  near  by,  they  show  the  "  Devil's- 
heating-iron  "  —  a  smooth,  flat  stone  that  is  always  hot, 
no  matter  how  wet  the  weather  or  how  hard  the  rain. 

Descending  by  a  well-worn  footpath  —  there  are  no- 
horses  or  other  large  quadrupeds  on  the  island  —  we 
came  to  the  door  of  a  small  two-roomed  building,  strong 
and  new.  The  owner  was  absent  in  the  mine,  but  our 
little  colored  guide  descended  to  notify  him  of  the  arrival 
of  strangers,  and  in  an  hour  or  so  he  came  up.  As  I 
sat  there  looking  out  over  the  sea  to  the  island  of  St. 
Eustatius,  dim  in  the  east,  and  gazing  up  at  the  peak 
of   the  volcano  that  reared   its    cleft    summit   directly 


AN    ISLAND   QUITE    OUT    OF   THE    WORLD.         445 

above  me,  and  the  time  slipped  by,  I  wondered  why  the 
proprietor  was  so  long  in  coming;  but  when,  later,  I 
went  over  the  same  ground  he  had  traversed,  I  won- 
dered why  he  had  come  at  all. 

Cornwall  Henwood,  part  owner  and  principal  worker 
of  the  sulphur  mine  of  Saba,  was  a  man  of  about  forty, 
robust  and  handsome,  who  had  spent  some  twenty  years 
in  and  about  the  West  Indies.  Educated  as  a  miner, 
he  had  prospected  in  nearly  every  island  of  the  chain, 
for  precious  metals  and  phosphates,  and  at  last  his  years 
of  toil  seemed  about  to  be  rewarded,  in  this  apparently 
exhaustless  deposit  of  sulphur.  "  I  will  show  you,"  he 
said,  "the  only  mine  of  pure,  cool  sulphur  in  the  Eastern 
hemisphere;  the  only  one  of  any  extent  outside  Sicily." 

Then  he  led  the  way  down  the  hill  toward  the  sea, 
and  we  walked  and  walked,  all  the  way  down  hill, 
until  it  really  seemed  as  though  we  should  eventually 
reach  the  nether  region  just  mentioned.  High  above 
us,  the  everlasting  cliffs  were  seamed  with  great  veins 
of  sulphur,  and  even  down  below,  where  they  were 
lapped  by  the  waves  of  the  Atlantic.  At  this  place  a 
derrick  had  been  erected,  and  a  wire  rope  ran  down 
from  it  to  the  sea,  six  hundred  feet  below.  Down  this 
rude  tram  the  sulphur  was  shot  in  buckets  to  a  plat- 
form, whence  it  was  taken  in  boats  to  a  vessel  in  wait- 
ing near  the  shore.  Owing  to  the  purity  of  the  crude 
sulphur,  as  it  is  blasted  from  the  face  of  the  perpendic- 
ular cliffs,  and  the  facility  with  which  it  can  be  dumped 
from  the  mine  to  a  vessel  below,  it  was  found  more 
profitable  to  ship  direct  than  to  refine  on  the  spot,, 
though  works  had  been  erected  for  that  purpose. 


446  IN    THE    WAKE    OF   COLUMBUS. 

Mr.  Henwood  explained  to  me  the  dip  and  breadth 
of  the  veins  of  sulphur,  and  invited  me  to  inspect  a 
tunnel  he  had  begun  at  a  lower  level.  It  was  then 
twelve  o'clock,  the  sun  was  attending  strictly  to  busi- 
ness, and  the  latitude  of  the  place  was  only  eighteen 
degrees  north  of  the  equator.  We  had  already  de- 
scended some  five  hundred  feet,  and  the  tunnel  was 
four  hundred  feet  farther,  so  at  first  I  hesitated,  but 
finally  we  went  down.  We  crept  along  ledges  that 
seemed  scarcely  wider  than  picture-moldings,  and  down 
a  path  which  no  sane  person  in  the  world,  if  fore- 
warned, would  have  attempted  to  descend.  But  we 
safely  reached  the  bottom,  about  two  hundred  feet 
above  the  beach,  and  there  found  several  black  men 
working,  under  the  direction  of  a  fine-looking  white 
man,  laboring  at  pick  and  shovel  with  a  will  that  would 
have  been  creditable  in  a  more  northern  clime.  The 
sun  beat  down  with  tremendous  force,  and  the  ther- 
mometer must  have  been  at  the  boiling-point.  We  ex- 
amined the  indications,  saw  the  wisdom  of  Henwood's 
reasonings,  and  agreed  with  him  that  the  sulphur  must 
lead  to  the  very  center  of  the  volcano. 

The  less  said  about  the  ascent  the  better.  In  going 
up  I  learned  a  lesson  from  this  veteran  climber  of 
West  Indian  mountains.  He  made  almost  a  full  stop 
after  every  step,  and  by  this  leisurely  mode  of  progres- 
sion we  reached  the  summit  without  great  fatigue. 

The  history  of  the  Saba  sulphur  mines  is  short,  but 
eventful.  When  the  mineral  was  first  discovered  no  one 
knows,  but  the  first  specimens  were  taken  to  America 
many  years  ago. 


AN   ISLAND   QUITE   OUT   OF   THE   WORLD.        447 

I  wish  I  could  put  on  record  a  successful  issue  to 
these  herculean  efforts  of  the  indomitable  Cornishman; 
but  the  labors  of  Mr.  Henwood  never  received  their 
reward.  Going  to  New  York,  shortly  after  the  time  of 
my  visit,  in  order  to  interest  capitalists  in  his  venture, 
this  generous  and  talented  man  was  murdered,  in  a 
hotel.  His  death  brought  disaster  to  the  enterprise, 
and  I  am  not  aware  that  it  was  ever  resumed ;  for  few 
men  could  be  found  of  the  courage  and  ability  necessary 
to  success. 


ST.    PATRICK'S    EOCK,    SABA. 


XXII. 

THE  SECOND  VOYAGE  TO  THE  NEW  WORLD. 

THE  islands  discovered  by  Columbus  in  his  second 
voyage  to  the  New  World,  lie  mainly  in  the 
Caribbee  chain,  which  sweeps  around  from  Puerto  Rico 
eastward  and  southward,  between  the  Greater  Antilles 
and  the  north  coast  of  South  America. 

Every  island  is  a  gem ;  nearly  every  one  is  a  mount- 
ain clothed  in  green,  thrust  up  from  the  depths  of  the 
sea,  with  white  strand  encircling  it,  blue  waves  embrac- 
ing it,  and  silvery  clouds  caressing  it. 

Sailing  from  the  Dutch  island  of  St.  Eustatius,  where, 
in  November,  1776,  the  stars  and  stripes  were  first 
saluted  by  a  foreign  power,  a  few  hours  took  me  to 
the  north  end  of  St.  Kitt's  —  as  the  English  now  call 
that  island  Columbus  named  St.  Christopher.  This  isl- 
and, with  its  great  central  peak  astride  the  lower  hills, 
reminded  him,  perhaps,  of  the  good  giant,  St.  Christo- 
pher, who  bore  the  infant  Christ  upon  his  shoulders,  and 
from  which,  it  is  said,  his  good  mother  took  the  future 
admiral's  own  name.  At  all  events,  he  had  this  legend 
in  mind  when  he  so  named  it:  and,  as  I  drew  near  the 
beautiful  island,  and  saw  its  grim  old  mountain  rising 

448 


THE    SECOND    VOYAGE    TO    THE    NEW    WORLD. 


449 


above  its  supporting-  hills  and  furrowed  slopes,  I  -was 
struck  with  its  beauty,  if  not  impressed  with  its  re- 
semblance to  the  historic  saint. 

Mount  Misery  is  the  highest  peak  in  the  island;  and 
near  its  center  it  has  a  crater  in  its  bosom,  and  a  silver 
wreath  of  clouds  at  all  times  plays  around  its  head. 
Seen  a  little  ways  out  at  sea,  the  whole  island  lies 
before  you :  the  dark  mountain  masses  towering  above 
the  broad-breasted  hills,  with  deep  ravines  running  down 
to  the  spaces  cultivated  in  sugar-cane,  which  are  of  a 
lighter  green,  and  opening  upon  the  sea.  The  estate 
houses   are  scat-  --_-  ut- 

tered here    and  _  ~-~~-z--  ... 

there,  some  of 
them  surrounded 
with  palms,  and 
all  with  groves  of 
cocoas;  near  them 
are  the  "  works," 
where  the  cane 
is    converted   into 

sugar,  their  tall  chimneys  rising  high  into  the  air.  The 
belt  of  cane  land  is  broad  and  far-reaching;  it  sur- 
rounds the  island  entirely;  extends  from  the  sea  as  far 
up  the  mountains  as  possible,  while  above  stretch  the 
pasture-lands  and  the  "provision  grounds"  of  the  la- 
borers. These  latter,  where  the  common  people  raise 
all  their  provisions,  such  as  taniers,  sweet  potatoes,  yams, 
bananas,  etc.,  and  which  they  cultivate  only  on  one  or 
two  days  in  the  week,  are  a  long  ways  from  their  dwel- 
lings.    They  build  here  little  watch  houses,  to  which 


THE    ISLAND   OF    ST.    EUSTATIUS,    SEEN  FROM 
ST.    KITT'S. 


450  IN    THE    WAKE    OF    COLUMBUS. 

they  retire  in  the  heat  of  noon  to  eat  their  frugal  mealsr 
or  when  the  rain  falls  heavily.  On  no  account,  how- 
ever, would  they  sleep  there  at  night,  for  they  are 
afraid  of  the  evil  spirits,  known  to  the  black  man  as 
"jumbies, "  which  lose  no  opportunity  to  do  harm  to 
the  black  man  who  may  be  caught  in  the  mountains 
after  dark. 

In  St.  Kitt's  are  some  of  the  most  hospitable  people 
in  the  world;  they  are  mostly  descendants  of  the  old 
planters  who  have  owned  property  here  ever  since  the 
buccaneer  period,  when  the  Spaniards  drove  away  the 
first  piratical  settlers.  Like  Barbadoes,that  other  loyal 
island  away  to  the  south,  St.  Kitt's  has  been  in  English 
hands  so  long  that  there  is  a  stability  and  thriftiness 
about  the  population  most  refreshing  to  note.  I  recall 
a  visit  made  here  some  years  ago,  when  the  planters 
seemed  to  vie  with  one  another  to  do  my  pleasure,  each 
one  entertaining  me  at  his  house,  and  passing  me  en- 
tirely around  the  island,  from  one  beautiful  estate  to 
the  other,  until  I  had  made  the  complete  circuit,  con- 
suming several  weeks  in  making  the  journey.  There 
is  a  road  around  the  island,  some  forty  miles  in  length, 
broad,  smooth  and  macadamized,  which  opens  up  to  the 
traveler  glorious  views  of  estates,  mountains,  sea,  and 
distant  isles  half-hidden  in  cloud. 

If  I  were  to  descend  to  details,  and  attempt  to  de- 
scribe the  island  of  St.  Kitt's,  I  should,  of  course,  begin 
with  its  capital  and  only  town  of  importance,  Basse 
Terre,  which  shows  in  its  name  the  trace  of  French 
occupancy,  centuries  back.  But  you  must  look  to  the 
guide-books  for  that;  my  dealings  are  with  the  people, 


THE    SECOND    VOYAGE    TO    THE    NEW    WORLD.  451 

and  also  with  things  remote  from  the  active  life  of 
to-day. 

Basse  Terre  is  a  pretty  enough  town,  with  a  fine 
central  square  and  tropical  garden,  where  tall  palms 
wave  rustling  leaves  above  an  elegant  fountain,  and  in 
the  harbor  of  which  is  a  beautiful  view  of  the  near 
island  of  Nevis,  its  one  mountain  rising  above  clouds 
that  are  ever  changing  and  always  fascinating.  Here 
the  Governor-in-chief  of  the  Leeward  Islands  has  one  of 
his  residences,  and  here  I  was  entertained  at  dinner  by 
him,  and  met  some  old  friends  of  years  ago. 

Across  a  narrow  channel  lies  the  island  of  Nevis, 
between  which  and  St.  Kitt's  a  little  steam  launch 
makes  frequent  trips.  The  natural  charms  of  Nevis 
are  many,  but  its  memories  are  sad,  for  it  is  now  liv- 
ing in  the  recollection  of  its  past.  Ruined  estates  and 
tumble- down  dwellings  are  scattered  over  the  slopes  of 
its  beautiful  mountain,  and  its  few  white  people,  though 
hospitable  (as  are  all  West  Indians),  cannot  readily  be 
found.  When  I  was  there,  in  1880,  I  was  entertained 
by  a  well-known  West  Indian  baronet,  Sir  Graham 
Briggs,  at  his  plantation,  Stony  Grove.  But  Sir  Gra- 
ham is  now  dead ;  his  vast  properties  in  Nevis  and  Bar- 
badoes  have  passed  into  other  hands,  and  things  have 
changed  for  the  worse  all  over  the  island.  All  Eng- 
lishmen know  that  it  was  here  that  Lord  Nelson  mar- 
ried the  Widow  Nesbit,  in  the  year  1787;  and  all 
Americans  ought  to  know  that  Alexander  Hamilton 
was  born  here,  and  went  from  hence  to  the  States,  to 
become  foremost  among  men  of  his  time. 

Southwardly  from    Nevis   lies    Montserrat,  which    is 


452 


IN   THE    WAKE    OF  COLUMBUS. 


now  entirely  devoted  to  plantations  of  limes,  thousands 
of  acres  bearing  the  fruit  from  which  the  now  famous 
"  Montserrat  lime  juice"  is  expressed.  I  have  tested 
the  hospitality  of  the  few  white  inhabitants  of  Mont- 
serrat, and  can  assure  my  readers  it  was  genuine.  Like 
all  the  islands  in  the  Caribbean  chain,  Montserrat  has 
its  crater,  or  sulphur  hole,  which  is  a  miniature  Vesu- 


WASHEIJWOMEX   OF    NEVIS. 


vius,  though  no  longer  active.  In  this  island,  when  on 
one  of  my  ornithological  trips,  I  discovered  a  new  bird, 
a  species  of  oriole,  with  beautiful  plumage  and  well- 
defined  characteristics,  which  the  naturalists  at  Wash- 
ington (with  the  sanction  of  the  British  ornithologists) 
named  in  my  honor.      It  is  a  pleasant  thought:    that 


THE    SECOND    VOYAGE    TO    THE    NEW    WORLD.  453 

one  may  have  a  namesake  at  large  in  the  world  that 
cannot  bring  him  discredit ;  but  I  often  recur,  with  a 
pang  of  tender  solicitude,  to  my  feathered  children, 
flitting  through  the  depths  of  the  tropical  forests  of 
this  far-off  island,  and  pray  that  no  harm  may  befall 
my  beautiful  Icterus  Obcri. 

Montserrat  was  thought  by  Columbus  to  have  been 
the  abode  of  the  famous  Amazons  of  the  Caribbees, 
who  dwelt  here  in  this  island  called  Madanino,  though 
the  great  navigator  never  found  those  fierce  females, 
nor  is  it  known  that  any  such  existed. 

East  of  Nevis  is  the  island  of  Antigua,  the  capital  of 
which,  vSt.  John's,  is  the  seat  of  government  of  the  Lee- 
ward Islands.  Here  resides  the  present  Governor  of  the 
Leeward  group,  Sir  W.  F.  Haynes  Smith,  K.  C.  M.  G., 
whom  I  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  several  times,  and 
who  is  locally  known  as  the  "  Yankee  of  the  Caribbees, " 
from  his  activity  and  his  benevolent  desire  to  improve  the 
condition  of  his  people.  He  has  initiated  a  movement 
looking  to  the  establishing  of  a  regular  line  of  steamers 
between  New  York  and  the  Lesser  Antilles,  and  the 
building  of  hotels  in  the  islands  of  Dominica  and  St. 
Kitt's. 

There  is,  and  has  been  for  some  years,  a  line  of  good 
steamers  between  these  islands  and  the  States,  the 
"Quebec  Line,"  which  has  given  much  attention  to 
the  development  of  tourist  travel  hither,  and  has  pro- 
vided as  regular  a  service  as  the  travel  and  traffic 
would  warrant.  Many  have  taken  advantage  of  their 
excursion  tickets,  in  the  few  years  past,  to  visit  these 
islands,  and  all  speak  with  delight  of  the  trip  afforded 


454  IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

by  voyaging  on  such  steamers  as  the  Caribbce,  which 
makes  a  leisurely  tour  of  the  chain,  stopping  a  few 
days  at  the  principal  ports,  giving  ample  time  for  ex- 
cursions into  the  country,  and  providing  a  comfortable 
home  for  its  passengers,  to  which  they  can  retreat  as 
occasion  demands.  I  had  the  good  fortune  to  meet  one 
of  these  excursion  parties,  and  to  spend  a  week  in  their 
company,  and  the  memory  of  the  event  remains  with 
me  as  one  of  the  pleasantest  of  my  life. 

In  Antigua  there  is  little  to  see  except  sugar  planta- 
tions, where  the  cultivation  has  been  carried  to  perfec- 
tion ;  but  here  also  one  meets  with  those  splendid  people 
I  have  already  mentioned,  who  maintained  the  prestige 
of  the  West  Indian  hospitality.  In  the  center  of  the 
island  is  a  valley  of  petrifactions,  where  beautiful  speci- 
mens of  silicified  woods  are  found  by  the  cartload.  I 
secured  many  of  the  best  for  the  Exposition,  including 
some  perfectly  silicified  sections  of  the  boles  of  the  cocoa 
palm. 

But  I  could  not  prevail  upon  the  Governor  and  his 
Council  to  send  to  the  Exposition  a  representative  ex- 
hibit from  the  Lesser  Antilles;  though  I  am  sure  it  was 
not  so  much  the  fault  of  His  Excellency  as  of  the  local 
councilors,  whose  insular  ideas  need  not  only  polishing, 
but  a  vigorous  rasping. 

In  memory,  I  continually  revert  to  a  little  island 
north  of  Antigua,  where  I  once  had  the  best  hunting 
for  small  game  that  I  ever  enjoyed.  The  island  of 
Barbuda  once  belonged  to  the  famous  Codrington 
family,  one  of  whom  established  that  flourishing  seat  of 
learning  in  Barbadoes,  Codrington  College.     Away  back 


THE   SECOND   VOYAGE   TO   THE   NEW    WORLD.         455 

in  the  last  centmy,  they  stocked  the  island  with  deer, 
sheep,  guinea  fowl  and  goats,  which  increased  abund- 
antly, and  now  their  descendants  swarm  here,  affording 
the  best  of  sport  to  one  inclined  to  dally  with  the  hunt- 
ress Diana.  Permission  must  first  be  obtained  at  An- 
tigua, but  that  once  secured,  a  whole  island  is  open  to 
the  exploration  of  one  who  can  appreciate  the  pleasures 
of  the  chase  of  small  game  beneath  an  ardent  sun. 

Directly  south  of  Antigua  lies  the  largest  island  of 
the  Caribbean  group — Guadeloupe.  It  is  really  two 
islands  in  one,  being  divided  into  two  parts  by  a  shallow 
salt-water  river;  the  larger  and  mountainous  one  is 
called  Guadeloupe,  and  the  low-lying  portion  Grande 
Terre.  Guadeloupe  and  its  dependencies,  Marie  Gal- 
ante,  the  Saintes  and  Desirade,  belong  to  the  French, 
although  the  islands  were  discovered  by  the  Spanish. 
In  truth,  the  mention  of  them  brings  me  back  to  the 
text  of  my  narrative:  the  wanderings  of  Columbus,  on 
whose  trail  we  are  supposed  to  be. 

We  have  seen  that  the  fleet  prepared  for  the  second 
voyage  to  the  New  World,  left  Cadiz,  and  steered  for  the 
Canary  isles.  Taking  his  departure  from  the  Canaries, 
a  more  southerly  course  was  pursued  than  on  the  first 
voyage;  by  this  the  fleet  escaped  somewhat  the  sea- 
weeds of  the  Sargasso  Sea,  and  the  trade  winds  wafted 
them  steadily  onward. 

On  Saturday,  the  second  of  November,  1493,  Colum- 
bus noted  signs  of  land  —  at  least,  of  its  proximity — and 
early  next  morning  a  blue  and  beautiful  island  rose  to 
sight.  Having  been  sighted  on  a  Sunday,  this  land  was 
called  Dominica,  by  which  name  it  is  still  known.     The 


456  IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

Spaniards  did  not  land  on  this  island,  as  the  windward, 
or  Atlantic  shores  of  all  the  Caribbees  are,  in  general, 
rough  and  difficult  of  approach.  They  kept  on,  and  first 
touched  shore  at  another  and  smaller  island,  of  which 
the  Admiral  took  possession  in  the  name  of  Spain,  call- 
ing it  Marigalante,  after  the  ship  which  he  commanded. 
Sailing  on  toward  a  still  larger  island,  above  which 
towered  a  cloud-capped  volcano,  they  landed  at  a  point 
on  its  eastern  shore,  finding  there  an  Indian  village,  and 
for  the  first  time  seeing  evidences  of  the  Caribs  —  the 
fierce  man-eaters  of  whom  they  had  heard  such  won- 
derful stories  on  the  previous  voyage.  Fortunately  for 
some  of  the  Spaniards,  who  later  were  lost  for  several 
days  in  the  forest,  most  of  the  warriors  were  away,  on 
a  predatory  expedition  to  the  northward ;  but  even  the 
women  were  difficult  to  capture,  and  fought  like  demons. 
It  is  recorded  that  Columbus  found  in  Guadeloupe 
the  stern-post  of  a  vessel,  and  other  indications  of  ex- 
traneous civilization,  that  had  probably  drifted  upon 
this  shore  from  the  Atlantic  currents;  and  here  he 
first  met  with  the  pineapple.  A  party  of  the  Spaniards 
having  strayed  into  the  forest  and  lost  their  way,  the 
valiant  Alonzo  de  Ojeda  was  sent  in  search  of  them. 
On  his  return,  he  gave  the  most  enthusiastic  account  of 
the  rich  and  beautiful  country,  the  forests  filled  with 
aromatic  trees  and  shrubs,  which  he  believed  produced 
precious  gums  and  spices.  He  declared  there  was  no 
country  like  it,  or  so  well  watered,  for  he  had  forded 
and  waded  twenty-six  rivers  in  the  distance  of  six 
leagues ;  and  as  for  the  forests,  the  trees  were  so  tall,  he 
said,  as  to  obscure  the  light  of  day. 


THE    SECOND    VOYAGE    TO    THE    NEW    WORLD.  457 

Sailing  onward,  the  voyagers  saw  island  after  island 
rising  above  the  waves  :  those  that  I  have  described  as 
lying  between  Guadeloupe  and  St.  Thomas ;  and  finally 
they  reached  their  destination  —  the  island  of  Santo 
Domingo. 

Having  followed  Columbus  throughout  his  voyagings 
thus  far  in  the  West  Indies,  let  us  complete  our  investi- 
gations by  seeking  to  identify  the  places  connected  with 
his  landings  at  Guadeloupe.  In  pursuance  of  my  plan 
to  visit  every  island  of  the  Antilles  of  importance,  and 
present  to  every  government  the  invitation  from  our 
own  to  participate  with  us  in  celebrating  the  Columbian 
anniversary,  I  touched  at  Basse  Terre,  the  seaport  on 
the  Caribbean  side  of  Guadeloupe,  in  April,  1892.  Basse 
Terre  is  the  most  picturesque  port  of  the  island,  but 
the  roadstead  is  open,  and  the  chief  harbor  is  that  of 
Pointe  a  Pitre,  in  the  Grande  Terre  portion. 

I  was  presented  to  the  Governor,  M.  Nouet,  and  in- 
vited by  His  Excellency  to  visit  a  while  at  his  "hotel " 
at  Camp  Jacob.  Behind  two  powerful  American  mules 
we  rode  up  the  steep  hills  to  the  Governor's  country 
seat  in  the  mountains,  near  the  hamlet  of  Camp  Jacob, 
which  is  a  retreat  for  the  people  of  the  coast  during  the 
heat  and  sickly  season  of  the  summer.  Here  are  vast 
coffee  estates,  winding  roads  and  lanes  lined  with  tree- 
ferns  and  plantains,  and  all  the  rank  and  luxuriant 
vegetation  of  the  tropic  belt.  The  air  is  deliciously 
cool,  and  at  night  it  is  a  delight  to  be  abroad.  The 
Governor's  house  is  a  large  and  handsome  building, 
perfect  in  all  its  appointments,  and  planted  in  the  midst 
of  a  gloriously  beautiful  garden,  with  every  kind  of  fruit 


458 


IN   THE    WAKE    OF    COLUMBUS. 


and  flower.  Bamboos  clashed  their  spears  above  trick- 
ling rills,  long  avenues  of  pomine-rose  trees  gave  dense 
shade  and  secluded  walks,  kiosks  under  broad  mango- 
trees  looked  out  upon  the  plains  and  distant  sea,  and 
above  the  myriad  flowers  hovered  living  gems  in  shape 
of  humming-birds.  I  was  offered  a  little  cottage  in  one 
of  the  gardens,  for  as  long  a  time  as  I  would  occupy, 

:  --  ;   x  _ m,-.*'  :'\ >-<;:- 


<*!& 


(f,/^u. 


1  "V*  4 


GKEAT   TREES   OF    THE   HIGH    WOODS. 


and  it  has  been  my  regret  ever  since  that  I  could  not 
accept  the  Governor's  offer  to  tarry  a  while  in  this  ter- 
restrial paradise. 

His  Excellency  is  a  Frenchman,  born  in  Paris,  though 
long  resident  in  foreign  lands  on  service  for  his  coun- 
try; and,  having  made  the  tour  of  the  United  States, 
speaks  our  language  perfectly.  He  not  only  provided 
for  little  excursions  about  the  hamlet,  but  one  morning 


THE    SECOND   VOYAGE   TO   THE    NEW    WORLD.  459 

took  me  up  into  the  high  woods  —  those  glorious  forests 
in  which  I  dwelt  for  months  some  fourteen  years  before.  * 
It  was  a  joy  to  re-visit  the  scenes  of  my  adventures,  to 
ride  through  the  somber  high  woods,  with  their  won- 
derful vegetation,  with  the  mighty  gommier-trees  tower- 
ing aloft,  hung  with  cable-like  lianas,  and  completely 
enveloped  in  orchids  and  air  plants.  There  is  no  more 
attractive  ride  accessible  to  the  traveler  anywhere  than 
that  over  the  paths  opened  by  Governor  Nouet  through 
the  high  woods  near  the  Camp.  At  the  base  of  the 
highest  hill  near  the  foot  of  the  volcano,  is  a  hot  spring 
which  has  been  walled  up  and  converted  into  a  bath, 
where  the  Governor  and  myself  had  a  refreshing  dip, 
ere  we  descended  to  the  Camp  again.  Below,  and  run- 
ning up  into  the  forest,  are  old  coffee  estates,  one  of 
which  belongs  to  an  old  friend,  M.  Colardeau,  director 
of  the  Jardin  des  Plantes,  and  where  I  was  entertained 
while  hunting  these  forests  for  rare  birds. 

My  friends  would  have  kept  me  long,  but  my  work 
demanded  my  presence  elsewhere.  At  an  attractive 
place  some  ten  miles  from  Basse  Terre,  I  saw  and 
photographed  a  large  rock  with  carvings  upon  it,  said  to 
be  Carib,  near  a  little  bay  where  the  aborigines  are 
known  to  have  lived.  But  the  most  interesting  spot 
was  at  Carbet,  near  the  point  of  Capesterre,  on  the 
eastern  coast  of  Guadeloupe,  for  this  was  the  first  land- 
ing-place of  Columbus,  where  he  found  the  first  evi- 
dences of  the  Caribs.     A  stream  drops  down  to  the  coast, 

*  My  descriptions  of  the  vegetation,  the  birds,  and  an  ascent  of  the  volcano,  or  the  great 
sulphur  mountain,  have  already  been  given  in  my  book  of  adventures,  entitled  "  Camps 
in  the  Caribbees,"  and  published  in  1879.     I  need  not  repeat  them  here. 


4(in 


IN    THE    WAKE    OF   COLUMTUS. 


forming  an  entrance  from  the  sea  suitable  for  canoes, 
and  the  rich  land  slopes  back  toward  the  distant  hills. 
At  the  mouth  of  the  river  is  a  gnarled  native  "  banyan  " 
tree,  on  the  beach,  and  this  I  photographed,  as  a  dis- 
tinctive object  for  the  identification  of  the  spot. 

My  guide  to  the  place  was  M.  Charles  Hyot,  a  wealthy 
planter  resident  at  Capesterre.  He  had  informed  him- 
self thoroughly  upon  the  evidence,  and  had  identified  the 


—_ ^ : : ^_-_ 


■  ■i5-.   I-*.": : 


BANYAN-TREE    —  GUADELOUPE. 
{Where  Columbus  first  landed  on  his  second  voyage.) 


spot  as  that  of  the  first  landing  of  Columbus  on  the 
second  voyage.  I  spent  a  night  and  a  day  at  his  beau- 
tiful plantation,  and  he  also  took  me  to  the  bay  at  which 
Columbus  remained  several  days  while  awaiting  the  re- 
turn of  his  soldiers  lost  in  the  forests.  This  is  the  Bay 
St.    Marie,  where    another   river   forms  a  wide  thoup-h 


THE  SECOND  VOYAGE  TO  THE  NEW  WORLD.    461 

shallow  harbor  behind  a  line  of  reefs,  and  about  which 
the  scenery  is  as  delightful  as  at  the  time  of  the  first 
arrival  of  white  men  in  this  region.  Beyond  the  palms 
that  adorn  the  estates,  beyond  the  plains  and  swelling 
hills,  and  beyond  the  shoulders  of  the  volcano,  which 
rises  to  the  clouds,  is  the  great  waterfall,  described  by 
Columbus.  It  is  so  distant  as  to  seem  a  mere  thread 
drawn  against  the  rock ;  it  drops,  white  against  the 
somber  background  of  the  forest,  and  to-day,  as  when 
first  observed  by  Columbus,  it  appears,  to  use  his  own 
expressive  language,  to  be  falling  from  the  sky. 

The  Caribbee  islands,  which  form  the  crescentic  chain 
between  latitude  twelve  and  twenty,  north  of  the  equa- 
tor, possess  every  variety  of  climate  between  temperate 
and  tropic,  and  every  beautiful  aspect  of  vegetation, 
from  the  sugar-cane  of  the  coast  to  the  feathery  tree- 
fern  of  the  cool  and  pleasant  high  woods,  with  their 
giant  trees  and  tangle  of  vines  and  bush -ropes. 

Along  the  coast  are  all  the  fruits  for  which  the  West 
Indies  are  noted:  custard-apples,  sapodillas,  guavas, 
mangoes,  soursops,  and  the  score  or  two  of  others  more 
familiarly  known  to  the  North. 

In  the  high  woods  are  many  rare  plants  and  trees, 
such  as  the  great  figucr,  or  wild  fig;  delicate  ferns,  and 
their  big  brothers,  the  magnificent  tree-ferns;  the  most 
conspicuous  tree  being  the  gommicr,  or  giant  gum,  the 
burscra giunmifcra,  from  which  the  Carib  Indians  hew  out 
their  large  canoes.  Climbing  higher,  the  ground  is  seen 
carpeted  with  a  curious  lycopodium,  unlike  anything  of 
its  family  found  elsewhere. 

There  are  at  least  four  islands  in  the  Caribbees  that 


462  IN    THE    WAKE    OF    COLUMBUS. 

nearly  realize  one's  ideals.  These  are:  Guadeloupe, 
Dominica,  Martinique  and  St.  Vincent.  The  first  is 
grand  and  gloomy,  yet  with  shining  shores;  the  second 
equally  somber  as  to  the  mountain  region,  but  break- 
ing out  into  broad  smiling  tracts  of  sugar-cane;  the 
third  combines  the  features  of  the  other  two ;  the  fourth 
has  all  the  beauty  of  the  three  combined,  and  less  of 
somberness. 

Dear  old  Dominica,  however,  has  for  me  the  greatest 
charm,  for  in  this  island  I  first  tasted  the  delights  of 
adventure  in  tropic  forests.  Here  I  first  camped  in 
huts  with  thatch  of  palm;  here  I  made  the  acquaint- 
ance of  strange  forms  of  animal  life ;  here  I  found  my 
first  new  bird,  and  here  I  lived  a  free,  wild  life  for 
many  months. 

My  visit  to  the  Caribs  of  Dominica  was  for  the  pur- 
pose of  ascertaining  how  many  of  them,  of  pure  blood, 
could  be  prevailed  upon  to  go  to  the  Exposition ;  it  being 
the  intention  of  the  managers  to  gather  there  all  the 
representative  Indians  of  North  and  South  America. 

The  Caribs,  as  the  last  living  representatives  of  the 
Indians  found  in  these  islands  by  Columbus,  possess  a 
peculiar  interest  for  the  ethnologist,  and  it  was  my  de- 
sire to  secure  from  them  not  only  an  exhibit,  but  the 
best  types  of  the  people  themselves.  There  are  very 
few  of  pure  Indian  blood  remaining,  as,  in  the  course  of 
generations,  they  have  become  mixed  to  a  great  extent 
with  the  blacks. 

Altogether,  there  ma)*  be  two  hundred  Caribs  in 
Dominica,  and  of  this  number  some  fifteen  families  are 
uncontaminated  with  negro  blood.    They  live  in  the  same 


THE   SECOND   VOYAGE   TO   THE    NEW    WORLD.         465 

primitive  style  as  did  their  ancestors  when  found  by 
Columbus;  dwelling  in  huts  of  palm,  tilling  a  little 
land,  making  cassava  bread  from  the  manihot  plant, 
fishing  when  the  sea  is  smooth,  hewing  out  canoes  from 
the  great  gum-trees,  and  weaving  baskets. 

Their  life  is  a  careless  and  happy  one,  but  altogether 
devoid  of  the  diversions  of  a  civilized  state  of  existence. 
There  are  now  among  them  about  ten  expert  canoe 
makers,  and  twenty  basket  weavers;  these  pursue  their 
vocations  contentedly,  under  the  thick  shade  of  the 
mango-trees,  in  fair  weather,  and  retreat  to  the  huts 
when  the  rain  comes  down. 

A  very  few  of  them  speak  the  ancient  Carib  tongue, 
and  my  companion,  who  is  a  linguist,  is  preparing  a 
vocabulary  of  the  last  remaining  words  as  spoken  by 
the  older  Indians  to-day. 

Their  speech  is  a  compound  of  English  and  French 
patois,  and  I  can  no  better  illustrate  it,  perhaps,  than 
by  quoting  the  remark  of  an  old  Indian  whose  wife 
was  ill,  and  about  whose  condition  he  had  great  solici- 
tude: "  Eef  he  make  sick  some  more  I  must  to  geeve 
heem  some  peel  (pills)  pore  hi,  I  not  want  to  lose  heem, 
like  my  ozer  wife,  who  die  and  have  same  ^///-plaint. " 
This  Indian  spoke  English  better  than  French,  but  there 
are  others  who  speak  the  patois  entirely,  and  others  again 
who  use  the  mixture. 

It  was  in  the  distant  mountains  back  of  the  Indian 
country  that  I  had  the  good  fortune  to  find  specimens 
of  a  most  magnificent  parrot,  known  to  the  naturalists 
as  the  CJirysotis  Augusta  —  the  Imperial,  one  of  the 
largest  in  the  world.     That  was  on  my  first  exploration, 


466  IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

and  on  the  third  I  obtained  a  live  specimen,  which  I 
took  to  the  States.  Although  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
of  birds,  and  apparently  intelligent,  the  Clirysotis  has 
never  been  known  to  talk  —  that  is,  to  learn  words  or 
phrases  and  repeat  them  by  rote. 

All  birds,  however,  speak  in  their  own  fashion.  Jean 
Baptiste  used  to  assure  me  that  some  of  them  were  poly- 
glots. One  of  the  birds  seen  frequently  in  the  woods,  is 
a  species  of  grosbeck;  this  he  called  the  " Priez-Dieu" 
because,  he  said,  it  repeated  these  words.  One  would 
cry,  "  Priez-Dieu,  Priez-Dieu !  "  and  its  mate  would 
reply,  "Pierre,  priez pour  nous  !  "  "Pray  for  us,  Peter, 
pray  for  us."  Another  bird  he  called  the  "  Oiseau  Bon- 
Dieu,"  or  God-bird,  because  it  led  a  harmless  life,  and 
did  no  evil.  This  bird  was  a  species  of  warbler,  but  in 
the  other  islands  the  wren  is  known  as  the  God-bird. 

The  Imperial  Parrot,  to  which  I  have  alluded,  is  con- 
fined to  the  island  of  Dominica,  as  a  species,  but  there 
are  others  of  the  genus  in  several  islands.  There  was 
one,  formerly,  in  Martinique,  only  thirty  miles  away; 
there  is  another  in  St.  Lucia,  and  yet  another  in  St. 
Vincent.  All  are  beautiful ;  all  large  and  strong  of 
wing;  yet  no  species  of  any  one  island  has  ever  been 
found  in  any  other.  This  fact  may  serve  to  throw  a 
little  light  upon  the  question  of  the  ancient  contiguity 
of  these  islands,  and  there  are  many  other  items  of  in- 
terest in  connection  with  the  study  of  the  avi-fauna  of 
the  Caribbees,  that  may  sometime  serve  the  investigators. 

Half  a  degree  of  latitude  south  of  Dominica  lies 
the  mountain  island  of  Martinique,  some  fifty  miles  in 
length,  with  deep-water  bays,  grim  promontories,  fertile 


THE   SECOND   VOYAGE   TO   THE   NEW    WORLD. 


461 


valleys,  and  possessing  a  vegetation  unsurpassed  for 
beauty  and  exuberance.  Its  principal  port  is  St.  Pierre, 
situated  on  a  broad  bay  some  three  miles  in  length ;  the 
water  in  the  harbor  of  St.  Pierre  is  so  deep  that  vessels 
at  anchor  have  to  run  out  all  their  chain.  Its  houses  of 
stone  and  brick  were  formerly  covered  with  tiles,  mel- 


>N  >x.  i.rci.v. 


low-red  in  tone;  but  since  the  hurricane  of  1 891,  the 
roofs  are  hideous  in  tin  and  galvanized  iron.  The  side- 
walks are  mere  cat-paths  separated  from  the  streets 
by  deep  gutters,  through  which,  every  morning,  swift 
streams  course  from  the  hills  and  lose  themselves  in 
the  bay.  These  living  waters  serve  to  cleanse  the  city 
and  carry  away  the  garbage,  and  every  morning  hun- 
dreds of   black  and   yellow  servants  emerge  from  the 


468  IN   THE    WAKE  OF   COLUMBUS. 

dwellings  with  tall  earthen  jars  on  their  heads,  the  con- 
tents of  which  are  dumped  in  the  gutters.  Babies  are 
washed  in  these  watercourses,  held  by  their  hair  or 
their  girdles,  lest  they  be  swept  away,  and  even  dishes 
may  be  seen  piled  upon  the  curbs. 

It  is  in  the  morning  that  the  servants  thus  disport 
themselves  in  the  streets,  but  in  the  afternoon  their 
masters  and  mistresses  may  be  seen  on  the  promenade 
leading  to  the  river,  or  strolling  through  the  avenues 
of  the  Jardin  des  Plautcs,  which  is  more  than  locally 
celebrated  for  its  horticultural  rarities.  The  high- 
class  Creoles  of  Martinique  are  dressed  in  the  height  of 
fashion;  but  those  lowlier  born  wear  garments  more 
gorgeous,  yet  decidedly  more  becoming.  There  are 
perhaps  one  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  people  in  Mar- 
tinique; the  great  majority  are  colored,  and  many  of 
the  quarter  and  eighth  castes  women  (quadroons  and 
octoroons)  are  noted  for  their  beauty.  With  their 
dresses  of  the  last  century  —  high-waisted,  loosely-flow- 
ing, and  bright  of  color,  and  their  superabundance  of 
ornamentation,  the  octoroons  of  the  island  are  attractive 
and  striking. 

In  my  last  visit  I  found  that  Martinique  had  changed 
greatly  in  the  fourteen  years  since  I  first  made  its  ac- 
quaintance —  and  for  the  worse.  The  white  people  have 
either  died  out  or  have  moved  away,  and  the  island 
population  is  taking  on  the  hue  and  habits  of  the  Afri- 
can. There  was  formerly  a  fine  society  of  whites,  and 
it  was  a  pleasure  to  promenade  of  an  afternoon,  as  one 
always  felt  sure  of  meeting  some  interesting  person. 
But  latterly  all  this  seems  to  have  changed.      It  may 


THE    SECOND   VOYAGE   TO   THE   NEW    WORLD.         469 


have  been  the  hurricane,  which  swept  over  the  island  in 
August,  1891,  destroying  all  the  crops,  sweeping  away 
forests,  and  killing  many  people.  Becoming  discour- 
aged at  the  appalling  losses,  the  white  inhabitants  may 
have  given  up  the  fight  against  the  elements,  and  have 
sought  other  fields  for  enterprise.  At  the  time  of  my 
last  visit,  the  shore  was  still  lined  with  wrecks,  half  of 
the  houses  of  St.   Pierre  were  roofless,  and  nearly  the 


NEGRO    BOYS 


MARTINIQUE 


whole  of  Fort  de  France,  the  capital  of  the  island,  had 
been  destroyed.  It  was  a  grievous  sight,  and  I  did  not 
expect  a  hopeful  answer  to  my  invitation  to  the  Exposi- 
tion. I  met  the  Governor  at  Fort  de  France,  and  found 
him  very  amiable.  He  was  a  Frenchman,  and  was 
domiciled  in  one  of  the  few  houses  still  standing  in 
the  ravaged  city.  Fourteen  years  ago  I  photographed 
and  described  the  birthplace  of  Josephine,  at  one  time 
Empress  of  the  French ;  but  I  was  assured  that  the  last 


470 


IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 


ruin  of  the  habitations  had  been  swept  away  by  the  hur- 
ricane. Around  the  beautiful  statue  in  the  savane  of 
the  capital  the  tall  palmistes  stood  erect,  like  masts 
divested  of  their  sails,  with  hardly  a  shred  of  leaf 
remaining. 

Against  the  hurricane  and  earthquake,  the  white  peo- 
ple of  the  West  Indies  have  ever  had  the  courage  to 
fight,  and  hopefully;  but  against  the  black  inundation 
from  Africa  which  has  swept  their  shores  they  are 
powerless. 


XXIII. 

CARIB    ISLANDS    AND    LAKE    DWELLERS. 

ALL  these  Southern  islands  of  the  West  Indies,  at 
the  time  of  their  discovery,  were  in  the  posses- 
sion of  the  Caribs;  but  in  two  of  them  only,  are  there 
any  remaining'  Indians  at  the  present  time.  These 
are  Dominica  and  St.  Vincent,  lying  about  two  degrees 
apart,  and  between  are  the  islands  of  Martinique  and 
St.  Lucia. 

Sailing  south  from  Martinique,  the  first  object  claim- 
ing attention  is  an  isolated  rock,  some  five  hundred  feet 
high,  at  a  distance  from  the  coast,  and  commanding  the 
channel  into  Port  Royal.  It  is  a  rock  with  a  unique 
history,  for  it  has  had  the  honor  of  having  been  entered 
on  the  books  of  the  British  Admiralty  as  a  ship.  It  was 
when  the  French  and  English  were  at  odds,  a  little  less 
than  a  hundred  years  ago,  that  Lord  Howe  took  posses- 
sion of  this  great  rock,  sent  some  guns  to  its  summit, 
manned  it  with  a  dozen  sailors  and  a  midshipman,  and 
then  sailed  away,  leaving  the  gallant  fellows  with  a 
year's  provisions  and  any  amount  of  pluck.  They  did 
good  work  in  annoying  the  Frenchmen,  and  it  is  said 
sent  several  vessels  to  the  bottom   of  the  sea;  but  at 

471 


472 


IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 


last  their  provisions  gave  out,  and  they  were  obliged  to 
surrender.  So  it  was  that  the  good  "ship"  the  Dia- 
mond, though  she  surrendered  her  crew,  was  never 
sunk,  but  left  where  her  captors  found  her,  and  there 
she  may  still  be  seen. 

It  cannot  be  said  that  the  island  of  St.  Lucia  is  attrac- 
tive, though  its  only  town  has  a  perfect  harbor,  which 


THE   DIAMOND   ROCK   OFF   MARTINIQUE. 

(As  seen  through  the  steamer's  port-hole.  I 


jlR! 


f> 


,1! 

m 

w 

w 

i m 

I 

lip 


the  English  are  fortifying,  and  attempting  to  convert 
into  a  second  Gibraltar.  The  harbor  and  town  of  Cas- 
tries have  an  unsavory  reputation  for  fever  and  smells. 
I  was  in  the  harbor  at  one  time,  on  board  our  cruiser 
the  Philadelphia,  when  the  horrible  odors  came  off  at 


CARIB    ISLANDS   AND    LAKE    DWELLERS.  473 

night  so  strong  and  fever-suggestive,  that  orders  were 
given  to  up  anchor  and  seek  another  station. 

Castries  has  improved  greatly  in  late  years,  and  may 
eventually  become  an  attractive  spot ;  but  it  is  hot  and 
sometimes  unhealthy. 

Like  all  these  Caribbee  islands,  St.  Lucia  can  boast  of 
its  "  Soufriere  "  or  sulphur  basin,  in  the  heart  of  an  ex- 
tinct crater.  To  reach  this  one  it  is  necessary  to  take 
passage  in. a  small  coasting  launch  that  goes  down  the 
leeward  coast  in  the  morning,  returning  at  night  to 
Castries.  The  trip  is  well  worth  the  while,  for  the 
crater  is  still  smoking  and  steaming,  and  the  sulphur  is 
being  gathered  from  the  vent-holes  where  it  is  depos- 
ited and  sublimated.  Beautiful  streams  pour  into  this 
basin,  one  of  them  being  half-concealed  in  ferns  and 
broad-leaved  plants.  In  exploring  this  sulphur  de- 
posit, one  must  be  careful,  as  the  crust  is  thin,  and  acci- 
dents sometimes  happen.  We  saw  an  old  man  who  had 
lost  one  of  his  feet  by  having  broken  through  the  crust 
and  plunged  into  a  caldron  of  steam  and  hot  water. 
The  sulphur  is  carried  out  on  the  heads  of  negroes  and 
negresses,  and  shipped  from  the  bay  of  Soufriere,  where 
there  is  a  most  attractive  village,  nestled  under  the 
Pitons. 

The  Pitons  are  the  most  symmetrical  mountains  in 
the  world.  They  lie  at  the  southern  end  of  St.  Lucia, 
detached  and  isolate,  a  pair  of  pyramids,  the  higher  one 
three  thousand  feet  in  altitude,  clothed  from  base  to 
-  summit  in  living  green,  and  so  steep  that  no  one  has 
ever  climbed  them,  and  returned  to  tell  the  tale. 

It  is  related  that  four  English  sailors  once  attempted 


474 


IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 


the  feat,  but  that  all  died  before  they  accomplished  it, 
either  of  fatigue  or,  as  is  more  probable,  from  the  stings 
of  the  terrible  serpent  the  "Iron  Lance."  St.  Lucia, 
like  Martinique,  is  infested  with  this  poisonous  reptile, 


THE   PITONS   OF    ST.    LUCIA. 


and  has  not  yet  been  able  to  cope  with  it,  though  it  is 
said  the  introduction  of  the  mongoose  has  somewhat 
diminished  its  numbers. 

From  the  vicinity  of  the  Pitons  can  be  seen  another 
island,  still  more  beautiful  than  any  we  have  visited. 
This  is  St.  Vincent,  than  which  none  can  be  found  more 
complete  in  charms  of  scenery.  The  capital  of  St.  Vin- 
cent is  Kingstown ;  and  its  inhabitants  are  as  particular 
that  you  put  in  the  "  w  "  in  the  spelling  of  "  town,"  as 
the  residents  of  Arkansas  are  that  you  pronounce  their 
State's  name  with  a  "saw."  There  is  another  Kings- 
ton, they  say,  in  Jamaica,  but  only  one  Kingstown,  and 
that  is  in  St.  Vincent. 


CARIB   ISLANDS    AND   LAKE   DWELLERS. 


475 


At  any  rate,  there  is  no  prettier  town  to  be  found  any- 
where in  the  islands,  if  we  take  its  surroundings  into 
the  picture,  bordering  as  it  does  a  wide  bay,  with  tossed 
and  jagged  hills  rising  behind  it.  The  people  resident 
here  are  friendly,  and  the  whites  are  in  greater  propor- 
tion to  the  blacks  than  in  the  other  islands.  This  is 
shown  when  there  is  a  ball  or  a  tennis  meet,  for  then 
all  the  pretty  girls  —  and  St.  Vincent  is  noted  for  them 


KINGSTOWN,    CAPITAL  OF   ST.    VINCENT. 

—  assemble  in  force,  and,  as  it  were,  carry  the  visitors 
by  storm. 

Back  of  the  town  is  the  botanic  garden  —  the  oldest 
botanical  station  in  these  parts.      Here  was  introduced 


476  IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

first  the  bread-fruit,  nutmeg  and  other  valuable  trees. 
Here  resides  the  Administrator,  or  resident  executive ; 
the  Governor  of  the  Windward  Islands,  to  which  St. 
Vincent  belongs,  lives  at  Grenada.  That  the  white  in- 
habitants were  exceedingly  attentive  to  strangers,  when 
I  was  here  on  my  first  visit,  I  myself  am  a  living  wit- 
ness—  having  experienced  their  kindness  while  very 
sick  with  fever.  Luxuries  that  money  could  not  buy, 
and  attentions  grateful  to  an  invalid,  they  lavishly 
bestowed,  and  the  very  name  of  St.  Vincent  awakens 
tender  recollections. 

I  did  not  linger  long  in  town,  as  the  remoter  parts 
of  the  island  beckoned  me  away  to  explore  them ;  and 
taking  seats  one  day,  in  a  "  passage  boat,"  a  friend  and 
myself  left  for  the  north  end,  skirting  the  leeward 
shore.  The  "passage  boat"  was  about  thirty  feet  in 
length,  with  five  rowers  and  a  "captain;"  and  was 
piled  high  amidships  with  merchandise  and  great  Carib 
baskets. 

Our  boat  trip  ended  at  the  little  town  of  Chateaube- 
lair,  which  we  reached  at  dusk,  finding  the  sea  running 
so  high  that  the  boat  could  not  be  beached.  So  it  was 
backed  in  as  near  as  possible,  and  held  there,  while 
three  of  the  boatmen  plunged  into  the  sea  and  carried 
us  severally  ashore  in  their  arms.  They  were  knocked 
down  three  times  before  they  had  landed  the  luggage; 
but  finally  all  was  safe  on  the  sands,  and  we  were 
taken  to  the  estate  house  at  Golden  Grove,  which  had 
kindly  been  placed  at  our  orders  by  its  owner.  This 
estate  was  but  one  of  many  owned  by  the  proprietor, 
Mr.  Porter,  who  has  in  his  possession  nearlv  two  thirds 


CARIB   ISLANDS   AND    LAKE   DWELLERS. 


477 


the  sugar  plantations  of  the  island.  The  house  was 
vacant,  but  in  charge  of  an  old  lady  who  provided  us 
with  a  good  dinner,  and  made  up  comfortable  beds; 
and  here  we  met  some  friends  of  the  past,  who  had 
been  managers  of  estates  and  were  managers  still,  with 
little  hope  of  ever  securing  properties  of  their  own. 

It  was  at  Chateaubelair  that  a  most  curious  discovery 
was  made,  a  few  years  ago,  of  Carib  relics.      In  opening 


PALMS   OF    THE    LEEWARD    COAST. 


ST.    VINCENT. 


a  road  near  the  beach,  a  cache  was  uncovered  of  stone 
weapons  and  agricultural  implements,  some  two  hun- 
dred in  number,  that  had  been  buried  there  at  least 
three  hundred  years  ago.  There  were  hoes  and  axes, 
hatchets,  celts,  and  several  huge  battle-axes.  I  myself 
secured,   at  another  point,  two  great  battle-axes,  one 


478  IN   THE   WAKE   OF  COLUMBUS. 

weighing  six  pounds  and  with  a  breadth  of  ten  inches. 
These  relics  of  the  aborigines  were  exhibited  at  the 
Jamaica  exposition  of  1891,  and  there  attracted  much 
attention.  No  one  knows  who  hid  them  there,  or  for 
what  purpose,  but  they  were  probably  concealed  by  the 
ancient  Caribs  for  use  in  any  need  at  time  of  war,  or 
sudden  irruption  of  their  enemies  from  South  America. 
Although  found  on  private  property,  the  stones  were 
claimed  by  the  Crown,  and  may  eventually  become  the 
nucleus  of  a  collection  for  a  valuable  local  museum. 

The  air  was  cool  that  night,  and  the  ensuing  morning 
was  cool  and  sweet,  as  we  rode  to  Richmond,  the  next  es- 
tate, where  we  breakfasted.  This  estate  lies  in  a  pretty 
valley,  and  contains  some  eight  hundred  acres,  planted 
in  sugar-cane,  and  managed  by  Alexander  Frazer,  an- 
other old  acquaintance  of  times  past.  Hence,  mounted 
on  horses  loaned  by  the  manager,  we  rode  over  to 
Morne  Ronde,  where  the  Black  Caribs  live.  Their  huts 
of  palm  are  half-hidden  in  natural  groves  of  mango, 
cacao  and  bread-fruit.  All  were  at  home  awaiting  me, 
as  the  Royal  Ranger,  Mr.  Musgrave,  had  sent  word 
from  town  that  I  was  coming,  and  old  Francois,  whom 
I  had  met  in  Jamaica,  had  prevented  any  one  from 
leaving  the  settlement.  We  assembled  in  the  great 
hut  where  the  basket  makers  worked,  who  pursued 
their  vocation  industriously.  Gathered  outside  were 
the  girls  and  boys,  separating  of  their  own  accord  into 
groups.  They  are  all  dark,  and  many  with  curly  hair 
—  for  these  Black  Caribs  are  the  result  of  the  intermix- 
ture of  the  real,  or  Yellow,  Caribs  and  negroes. 

Thev   have   a   fine   reservation,  extending   from  the 


CARIB   ISLANDS   AND    LAKE   DWELLERS. 


479 


sea  far  up  into  the  mountains,  and  containing  over  four 
hundred  acres.  In  all  they  number  about  two  hundred ; 
old  Frangois  went  out  and  took  the  census,  while  I 
waited  in  the  hut.  They  drank  the  spirits  sent  them, 
and  with  great  enjoyment  smoked  the  cigars  we  brought, 
giving  us  in  exchange  cocoanut  water  and  poached 
eggs.     There  was  but  one  of  them  who  could  speak,  or 


THE    TEN    LITTLE    CAIUI5S. 


pretended  to  speak,  the  Carib  tongue,  and  as  no  one  else 
knew  the  sense  of  his  lingo,  it  had  to  pass  as  that. 

The  small  boys  and  girls  frisked  and  played  in  the 
water,  deriving  much  enjoyment  from  capsizing  an  old 
canoe,  and  then  going  to  its  rescue  before  it  was  carried 
away  by  the  waves. 


480  IN   THE    WAKE    OF   COLUMBUS. 

The  baskets  made  by  these  Black  Caribs  are  in  such 
demand  that  they  are  kept  busy  filling-  orders,  and  seem 
much  more  industrious  than  their  Indian  brothers  of 
Dominica.  Their  reservation  is  owned  in  common,  but 
each  family  possesses  its  plot  for  individual  cultivation. 

Peaceful  and  quiet  as  they  now  are,  their  ancestors 
made  a.  great  deal  of  trouble  for  the  planters  here  a 
hundred  years  ago.  At  the  house  on  the  Richmond 
estate  I  was  shown  an  old  table  hacked  by  the  cutlasses 
of  the  Indian  rebels  of  that  time ;  and  it  is  a  matter  of 
local  history  that  the  manager  of  the  adjoining  estate 
of  Wallilabou  was  captured  by  them,  and  killed  by 
being  crushed  between  the  rollers  of  his  cane  mill. 

Having  seen  the  Blacks,  my  next  visit  was  to  the 
Yellow  Caribs,  on  the  other  side  of  the  mountain;  to 
reach  them  we  were  obliged  to  climb  the  volcano,  and 
descend  the  eastern  slope  to  the  windward  coast. 

Mr.  Frazer  loaned  us  a  horse  and  a  mule,  and  we 
cantered  across  the  Dry  River  to  the  hills,  where  we 
overtook  two  jolly  priests,  with  whom  we  kept  company 
to  the  top  of  the  volcano,  making,  with  our  attendants, 
a  long  procession,  winding  up  the  narrow  trail.  Glori- 
ous were  the  views  on  every  side,  increasing  in  beauty 
and  extent  as  we  got  higher,  and  the  woods  shut  out 
the  prospect,  though  giving  us  in  exchange  rare  effects 
in  leaf  and  shade.  We  halted  at  the  "  Maroon-Tree," 
for  rest  and  refreshment,  and  at  noon  were  at  a  cave 
under  the  brim  of  the  crater,  where  we  gathered  for 
lunch.  The  priests  were  well  provided  with  proven- 
der, and  we  mingled  our  cheer  in  the  cave,  lunching 
a  I  fresco. 


CARIB   ISLANDS   AND   LAKE   DWELLERS.  481 

Fourteen  years  before  I  had  spent  the  greater  part  of 
four  days  and  nights  in  this  same  cave,  having  as  com- 
pany an  old  negro,  my  object  being  to  secure  a  rare 
bird  that  inhabited  the  upper  slopes  of  the  volcano. 
The  people  of  the  island  called  it  the  "  Invisible  Bird," 
because,  though  they  heard  its  song,  they  could  never 
discover  the  singer.  I  secured  several  specimens,  but 
only  by  living  on  the  crest  of  the  volcano  for  four  days, 
and  camping  with  the  old  negro  in  the  cave.  The 
exposure  also  gave  me  a  fever  which  lasted  several 
months,  and  thus  the  bird  cost  me  dear  —  even  though 
it  proved  to  be  a  species  new  to  the  world. 

And  to  return  to  this  lone  place,  many  years  after 
the  event,  and  have  my  photograph  taken  in  the  very 
cave  where  I  had  passed  some  very  dreary  hours —  this 
was  one  of  the  strangest  things  that  ever  happened  to 
me.  I  heard  the  strains  of  the  Soufriere  Bird  (the 
"invisible  "  one)  all  along  the  trail;  but  on  this  visit  I 
carried  no  gun,  and  the  little  creature  was  not  molested. 

Just  back  of  the  cave  is  the  crater-brim,  and  far  below 
it  lies  a  pearly  lake,  slumbering  in  beauty,  two  thousand 
feet  above  the  sea.  The  volcano  peak  is  three  thousand 
feet  above  sea-level,  and  is  only  attained  after  hard 
struggle  and  climbing.  Here  the  priests  parted  from 
us,  at  the  fork  of  the  windward  trail,  and  as  it  was  so 
bad  that  no  horse  could  descend,  we  sent  our  animals 
back  and  essayed  the  remainder  on  foot.  It  was  deeply 
gullied  and  almost  impassable,  plunging  deep  into  the 
ferns  in  its  descent  until  the  heat  was  well-nigh  intol- 
erable. The  last  mile  or  so  was  through  thickets  of 
ferns  and  mountain  palms,  but  emerging  from  there  we 


482  IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

entered  the  open  pasture-lands  of  Mahoe,  thickly  stud- 
ded with  great  bread-fruit-trees,  and  then  descended 
into  the  cultivated  lands  of  "  Lot  Fourteen;  "  we  passed 
through  immense  cane  fields,  and  finally  reached  the 
"works,"  where  the  boilers  were  in  full  blast,  and 
numerous  negroes  were  feeding  the  rollers. 

The  manager  was  away,  but  the  overseer  gave  us  two 
mounts  —  one  on  a  mule,  having  a  saddle  without  girth 
or  stirrups — and  we  were  soon  cantering  off  for  the 
"  Carib  Country,"  a  two  hours'  ride  distant.  Striking 
across  the  fields,  we  followed  the  main  road  along  the 
windward  coast ;  it  dwindled  finally  into  a  bridle-trail 
beyond  Overland  Village,  and  then  climbed  the  steep 
hills  that  guarded  the  Carib  lands.  We  reached  the 
settlement,  Sandy  Bay,  after  dark. 

I  had  taken  the  precaution  to  send  on  boxes  of  pro- 
visions, two  days  ahead ;  but  they  had  not  arrived,  and 
so  an  old  Carib  friend,  Rabacca,  volunteered  to  go  in 
search  of  them.  He  returned  late  in  the  night,  and 
then  we  swung  our  hammocks,  opened  our  canned  pro- 
visions and  feasted  in  the  hut  that  a  good  Indian  widow 
had  vacated  in  anticipation  of  our  coming. 

In  the  morning  the  Indian  friends  of  past  hunting 
adventures  came  to  see  me,  and  I  heard  the  same  sad 
stories  that  all  the  world  is  familiar  with  —  of  sickness 
and  death,  and  struggles  with  poverty.  The  former 
chief  of  the  settlement,  Captain  George,  had  lost  his 
good  old  wife,  but  was  now  rejoicing  in  a  handsomer 
new  one,  and  living  high  up  in  the  hills.  One  of  the 
girls,  whom  I  remembered  as  the  prettiest  Indian  child 
T  had  ever  seen,  was  now  changed  into  a  coarse,  but 


CARIB    ISLANDS   AND   LAKE    DWELLERS. 


483 


comely  woman.  She  took  me  to  the  site  of  her  mother's 
hut  on  the  hill,  and  described  to  me  the  terrible  hurri- 
cane that  had  blown  the  hut  away,  and  destroyed  every 
vestige  of  their  carefully-kept  garden.  Disaster  had 
overtaken  them;  one  by  one  her  family  had  gone  away, 
until    she   alone   was   left   with    her   old   mother,  and 


f  v=r 


BEACH    NEAR   THE    BOCA.  —  TKINIDAD. 


obliged  to  cultivate  with  her  own  hands  the  little  strip 
of  arrowroot  ground  on  the  hillside,  the  only  resource 
that  lay  between  them  and  absolute  starvation. 

Sandy  Bay  is  the  central  settlement  of  the  Yellow 
Caribs.  These  people  have  no  reservation  of  their  own, 
but  hire  land  of  the  Government.  They  live  by  the 
cultivation  of  arrowroot,  mainly,  with  occasional  forays 
upon  the  sea,  and  working  now  and  then  upon  the  sugar 


484  IN   THE   WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

plantations.  Their  habits  are  similar  to  those  of  the 
Dominica  Caribs,  and  there  are  about  the  same  num- 
ber of  the  pure-blooded  Indians  here  as  in  the  northern 
island.  Altogether,  in  both  islands,  there  may  be  about 
three  hundred  descendants  of  the  Indians  discovered  in 
the  Caribbees  by  the  first  Spaniards,  and  equally  divided 
between  the  two. 

St.  Vincent  was  discovered,  it  is  believed,  by  Colum- 
bus, on  his  third  or  fourth  voyage  to  America,  but  it 
was  for  a  long  time  overlooked,  and  the  Spaniards 
never  made  a  settlement  here. 

Lying  three  degrees  farther  to  the  south  is  another  and 
vastly  larger  and  more  important  island,  that  of  Trini- 
dad, between  ten  and  eleven  degrees  of  north  latitude, 
which  was  first  seen  by  Columbus  on  his  third  voyage, 
in  1498.  He  had  been  two  months  at  sea,  and  was 
suffering  from  the  dreadful  heat  of  this  latitude,  with 
nearly  all  his  store  of  water  gone,  when  the  watch  at 
the  mast-head  descried  the  peaks  of  three  mountains 
in  the  distance,  which  a  nearer  approach  revealed  to  be 
united  at  their  base.  The  land  to  which  they  ap- 
pertained Columbus  at  once  called  Trinidad,  or  the 
Trinity,  having  previously  promised  to  name  his  next 
discovery  after  the  sacred  Triad,  in  token  of  his  grati- 
tude at  sight  of  land.  He  approached  the  island  from 
the  southeast,  coasting  its  southern  shore,  and  entering 
the  Bay  of  Paria  through  the  passage  which  he  named 
the  Serpent's  Mouth ;  the  Boca  del  Scrpientc. 

Coming  up  under  its  western  shore,  he  was  surprised 
to  observe  the  verdure  of  its  forests  and  the  beautiful 
trees  that  came  down  to  the  water's  edge;  for  he  had 


CARIB    ISLANDS    AND    LAKE    DWELLERS. 


485 


reasoned  that,  being  so  near  the  equator,  he  should  find 
the  vegetation  parched  from  the  heat,  with  little  water 
and  moisture.  He  also  thought  that  the  inhabitants  of 
this  country  would  appear  like  the  negroes  of  Africa; 
with  skins  black  from  exposure  to  the  sun,  and  woolly 


THE   PITCH   LAKE.  — TRINIDAD. 


hair.  Instead,  he  found  the  people  who  came  out  to 
his  vessels  in  their  canoes  to  be  like  the  Caribs  in  the 
islands  to  the  north,  and  equally  as  comely. 

His  reasonings  and  conclusions  are  quaintly  set  forth 
in  the  writings  of  Pietro  Martire,  one  of  the  first  chroni- 
clers of  his  discoveries : 

"So  that,  as  he  (Columbus)  saith,  it  (the  earth)  is 
not  round  after  the  form  of  a  ball  or  an  apple,  as 
others  think,  but  rather  like  a  pear  as  it  hangeth  on  the 
tree;    and  that   Paria  is  that  region   which  possesseth, 


486  IN    THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

the  super-eminent  or  highest  part  thereof,  nearest  unto 
heaven.  Insomuch  that  he  earnestly  contendeth  the 
Earthly  Paradise  to  be  situate  in  the  top  of  those  three 
hills  which  the  watchman  saw  out  of  the  top-castle  of 
the  ship;  and  that  the  outrageous  streams  of  the  fresh 
waters  which  did  so  violently  issue  out  of  the  said  gulf, 
and  strive  so  with  the  salt  water,  fall  headlong  from 
the  tops  of  the  said  mountains. " 

He  coasted  the  inner  shores  of  Trinidad,  delighted 
with  the  scenery,  and  discovering  troops  of  monkeys 
sporting  in  the  forests;  then  he  stood  across  for  the 
peninsula  of  Paria,  where  he  found  the  most  agree- 
able Indians  the  Spaniards  had  ever  seen.  Here  he 
saw  the  first  pearls,  and  gained  information  of  the  Pearl 
Islands,  which  he  later  sailed  to,  and  from  which  he 
brought  away  some  valuable  specimens.  He  found 
oysters  growing  on  trees,  and  recalling  what  the  learned 
Pliny  had  written  regarding  the  formation  of  pearls 
from  dew,  inferred  that  they  hung  there  with  their 
mouths  open  to  receive  the  dew  that  was  to  be  trans- 
muted into  the  precious  pearls.  Oysters  may  be  seen 
there  now,  growing  in  the  same  manner,  suspended 
from  the  twigs  and  roots  of  the  mangroves ;  but  no  one 
has  yet  found  pearls  in  any  quantity  in  the  Gulf  of 
Paria. 

It  was  about  mid- August  that  he  sailed  through  the 
Serpent's  Mouth  (which  he  so  named  becaiise  of  the 
terrible  currents  he  encountered  there),  and  steered 
northwardly,  first  visiting  the  Pearl  Islands,  Cubagua 
and  Margarita,  and  thence  making  for  Hispaniola. 

Arrived  there,  he  found  the   island  in  turmoil,  and 


CARIB    ISLANDS    AND   LAKE    DWELLERS.  487 

eventually  he  was  made  prisoner  by  Bobadilla,  an  offi- 
cial sent  out  by  the  king  of  Spain,  and  returned  home  in 
chains.  Columbus  would  have  remained  longer  among 
the  Pearl  Islands,  which  gave  such  promise  of  wealth, 
but  a  malady  of  the  eyes  made  him  nearly  blind,  and 
he  was  obliged  to  seek  the  island  of  Hispaniola,  where 
there  was  promise  of  relief. 

During  the  year  that  followed,  he  sent  home  to  Spain 
an  account  of  his  discoveries  and  specimens  of  the  finest 
pearls,  by  which  other  adventurers  became  aware  of 
the  richness  of  the  newly-discovered  land ;  and  one  of 
his  old  companions,  Alonzo  de  Ojeda,  a  brave  soldier, 
obtained  the  king's  permission  to  fit  out  an  expedition 
to  explore  where  Columbus  left  off.  With  Ojeda  was 
another  adventurer,  then  unknown,  but  who  subse- 
quently became  famous,  through  his  narrative  of  the 
voyage,  and  through  having  his  name  given  to  the 
country  discovered  by  Columbus.  This  man  was 
Americus  Vespucci,  and  he  arrived  at  the  Gulf  of  Paria 
and  the  Pearl  Islands  in  the  year  following  the  visit  of 
Columbus,  1499. 

It  has  been  denied  by  some  investigators  that  our 
country  was  named  after  the  Florentine,  but  that  it  de- 
rived its  name  from  an  aboriginal  word  in  use  on  this 
very  peninsula  of  Paria,  A  mcricapan,  which  is  applied 
to  a  settlement  there.  This  may  be  so;  let  the  geog- 
raphers decide  it;  but  one  thing  is  certain:  Vespucci 
gave  the  name  to  the  richest  country  on  the  north  coast 
of  South  America  —  Venezuela. 

Sailing  beyond  the  Pearl  Islands,  these  purloiners 
from  the  fame  of  Columbus  discovered  Curacao,  which 


488 


IN    THE    WAKE    OF   COLUMBUS. 


they  described  as  inhabited  by  a  race  of  giants,  and 
then  proceeded  still  farther  to  the  west,  and  entered 
the  great  Gulf  of  Maracaibo.  On  its  eastern  shore  they 
saw  a  more  surprising  sight  than  any  that  yet  had 
greeted  their  eyes,  for,  standing  out  into  the  waters  of  a 
placid  bay,  at  a  distance  from  the  shore,  was  an  Indian 
village.      It  was   built    on    long   piles   driven  into   the 


3UNSEI    OX    THE    VENEZUELAN   COAST. 


bottom  of  the  lake,  and  consisted  of  palm-leaf  huts, 
bell-shaped,  and  perched  on  platforms,  with  slight  con- 
necting drawbridges  between  them.  Numerous  Indians 
sported  in  the  water,  and  darted  about  in  their  canoes, 
but  as  soon  as  they  saw  the  great  vessels  of  the  Span- 


CARIB   ISLANDS    AND    LAKE   DWELLERS. 


489 


iards  coming  toward  them,  they  fled  to  their  habitations, 
raised  their  drawbridges,  and  prepared  for  fight.  This 
village  in  the  water,  so  different  from  anything  previ- 
ously seen,  struck  Vespucci  so  forcibly  that  he  called  it 


PLOUGHING   UNDER   THE    PALMS. 


"  Venezuela,"  or  Little  Venice  —  a  name  that  has  since 
been  applied  to  the  country  adjacent  to  the  gulf  and  the 
sea  he  was  navigating. 

The  Caribs,  then,  and  the  Lake  Dwellers  discovered 
by  Vespucci,  are  about  the  only  Indians  whose  descend- 
ants still  live  in  the  places  where  originally  found.  I 
have  grouped  them  together  in  this  chapter  on  that 
account,  having  myself  visited  them  all  at  various 
times. 

In  the  spring  of  1890  I  went  to  Maracaibo,  on  the 
gulf  of  that  name,  and  from  that  city  took  a  boat  for 
the  settlement  of  Lake  Dwellers,  which  is  known  as 
Santa  Rosa.      I  found  them  living1  in  huts  made  of  reeds 


490 


IN   THE   WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 


and  palm,  erected  upon  piles  in  the  lake,  in  water  about 
waist  deep,  and  exactly  as  described  by  Vespucci,  four 
hundred  years  ago.  These  Lake  Dwellers  are  mild 
and  good  natured,  differing  from  the  Guajiros  on  the 
main,  opposite,  who  are  ferocious,  wild,  unsubdued,  still 
ruled  by  their  own  chiefs,  and  governed  by  their  own 
laws. 

The  Lake  Dwellers  live  as  lived  their  ancient  proto- 
types of  the  Swiss  Lakes,  and,  together  with    another 

settlement  higher 
up  Lake  Mara- 
caibo,  are  the  last 
survivors  of  a 
most  interesting 
people. 

Being  only  ten 
miles  distant  from 
the  large  city  of 
Maracaibo,  they 
all  speak  Spanish 
as  well  as  their 
own  tongue,  and  find  a  market  for  their  fish  and  small 
articles  in  that  city.  They  still  retain  the  fondness  for 
white  men  that  so  captivated  Ojeda  and  Vespucci,  and 
mothers  regularly  sell  their  children  to  strangers  for  as 
long  a  period  as  may  be  desired.  The  market  price  for 
an  Indian  girl  at  the  Lake  settlement  is  all  the  way 
from  twenty  to  sixty  dollars,  and  they  go  into  service 
virtually  the  property  of  their  purchasers,  making  faith- 
ful servants  and  devoted  adherents.  Boys  command  a 
lower  price,  and  can  be  got  for  ten  and  fifteen  dollars 


WASHING    CLOTHES   AT    CURACAO. 


CARIB   ISLANDS   AND   LAKE   DWELLERS.  491 

each.  It  seems  to  be  an  understood  arrangement  that 
the  mothers  shall  sell  their  children,  and  does  not 
diminish  filial  affection  at  all,  if  one  may  judge  from 
appearances. 

They  are  peaceable  now,  though  their  ancestors  were 
warlike,  and  gave  battle  to  Ojeda,  at  first,  finally  be- 
coming reconciled,  and  parting  from  him  the  best  of 
friends. 

The  voyage  terminated  in  June,  1500,  when  the  ad- 
venturers finally  returned  to  Cadiz,  but  a  few  months 
previous  to  the  arrival  there  of  the  great  Admiral  wear- 
ing the  chains  placed  upon  him  by  Bobadilla.  Summing 
up  the  results  of  the  voyage,  they  found  it  had  been 
unprofitable ;  although  a  small  vessel,  that  had  started 
after  they  had  sailed,  and  returned  two  months  before, 
brought  home  great  quantities  of  beautiful  pearls,  and 
from  the  very  islands  they  themselves  had  visited. 


XXIV. 

JAMAICA    AND    THE    WRECK    OF    COLUMBUS. 

A  BEAUTEOUS  island  is  Jamaica. 
I  arrived  there  on  the  twentieth  of  March,  from 
Havana,  via  the  north  coast  of  Cuba  and  Haiti.  On 
the  afternoon  of  my  arrival  I  called  on  our  Consul,  who 
generously  placed  his  services  at  my  disposal,  and  the 
next  day  visited  by  appointment  the  Governor,  vSir 
Henry  Blake,  who  received  us  cordially,  listened  atten- 
tively to  my  statement,  and  assured  me  that  personally 
he  was  strongly  in  favor  of  the  representation  of  Jamaica 
at  Chicago.  He  promised  to  bring  the  matter  before 
the  Council  at  the  earliest  opportunity;  meanwhile  I 
was  at  liberty  to  consult  with  representative  citizens, 
and  make  my  mission  known  as  widely  as  I  chose. 
Acting  upon  this  suggestion,  that  same  day  I  visited  the 
offices  of  the  newspapers,  the  editors  of  which  courte- 
ously received  me  and  placed  their  columns  at  my  dis- 
position, later  proving  their  sincerity  and  good-will  by 
advertising  the  Exposition  to  the  fullest  extent. 

There  are  four  papers  published  in  Kingston,  the 
capital  of  Jamaica,  three  of  them  of  a  high  order  of 
merit. 

492 


JAMAICA   AND    THE    WRECK   OF   COLUMBUS.  493 

The  same  evening  I  was  present  at  a  dinner  given  by 
the  General  Manager  of  the  Jamaica  Exposition  (then 
open  at  Kingston)  to  the  officers  of  our  cruiser,  the 
Philadelphia,  and  had  the  privilege  of  proposing  as  a 
toast,  "  Chicago, "  which  was  drunk  with  acclaim  by  all 
present. 

Two  days  later  the  Consul  and  myself  lunched  with 
the  General  Manager  of  the  Exposition,  as  the  guests 
of  the  day ;  my  consular  flag  was  flown  from  the  central 
dome  of  the  great  building,  and  a  salute  of  seven  guns 
was  given  us  at  our  arrival  and  departure.  Two  days 
after  that  Admiral  Gherardi,  of  the  Philadelphia,  placed 
his  launch  under  our  orders;  in  this  we  proceeded  to 
Port  Royal,  across  the  bay,  to  lunch  with  Commodore 
Lloyd,  of  H.  M.  S.  Urgent,  who  received  us  with  a 
salute  from  his  ship,  and  entertained  us  delightfully  at 
his  quarters  on  shore. 

Port  Royal  is  not  an  attractive  place  for  residence, 
and  has  never  recovered  from  the  great  disaster  of  two 
hundred  years  ago,  when  the  city  that  was  here  erected, 
and  which  was  the  rendezvous  of  pirates  and  bucca- 
neers, containing  vast  wealth,  was  sunk  by  an  earth- 
quake. Beneath  the  sea  may  yet  be  seen,  it  is  said,  the 
roofs  of  sunken  houses.  That  tremendous  catastrophe 
occurred  in  1692,  at  the  same  time  the  Salem  people 
were  putting  to  death  their  kin  for  witchcraft ;  and  in 
1693,  just  two  hundred  years  ago,  the  frightened  rem- 
nant of  the  population  abandoned  a  place  of  such  dis- 
aster, and  settled  on  the  other  side  of  the  magnificent 
bay  that  forms  the  harbor  of  Kingston. 

Within  the  week  of  my  arrival  I  dined  at  the  "  King's 


49-i  IN   THE   WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

House  "  with  the  Governor,  meeting  there  several  dis- 
tinguished ladies,  and  also  officers  of  the  British  army, 
and  later  had  all  I  could  do  to  attend  the  calls  of  the 
hospitable  citizens  of  the  capital.  Thus  was  inaugurated 
the  good  feeling  that  has  distinguished  our  relations 
with  Jamaica,  and  which  resulted  in  her  sending  an 
exhibit  to  Chicago.  It  was  anticipated  that  I  might 
have  difficulty  in  inducing  the  Government  to  partici- 
pate with  ours  in  the  Exposition,  because  there  had 
been  a  misunderstanding  by  which  it  had  seemed  as 
though  we  had  ignored  their  own  invitation  to  join  in 
theirs.  To  obviate  any  misconception  I  had  been  fur- 
nished with  a  letter  from  Mr.  Blaine,  then  our  Sec- 
retary of  State,  which  was  to  be  produced  only  if 
absolutely  necessary ;  fortunately,  I  had  no  necessity  to 
use  it.  , 

Through  the  courtesy  of  the  Governors  of  the  Jamaica 
Institute,  I  was  invited  to  read  a  paper  before  that  dis- 
tinguished body  on  "  The  World's  Columbian  Exposi- 
tion," in  the  lecture  hall  of  the  exposition  building. 
The  Jamaica  Institute  is  a  literary  and  scientific  institu- 
tion, endowed  by  the  home  Government,  and  acknowl- 
edgedly  in  advance  of  any  other  of  the  kind  in  the  West 
Indies.  The  time  allotted  me  was  short,  but  I  prepared 
a  comprehensive  statement  of  our  great  undertaking, 
taking  a  wide  survey  of  the  field,  assuming  and  holding 
an  advanced  position  for  our  Government,  and  delivered 
my  lecture  before  a  select  and  appreciative  audience, 
on  the  eleventh  of  April. 

Ten  days  later  I  repeated  it  before  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce  of  Kingston,  and,  like  the  first,  it  was  well 


JAMAICA    AND   THE    WRECK   OF   COLUMBUS.  497 

received,  and  the  substance  of  it  published  in  all  the 
papers  the  next  morning.  A  full  report  of  my  first  lec- 
ture was  printed  in  the  Post  the  day  after  it  was  de- 
livered. It  filled  eight  columns  of  that  paper,  and  I 
mention  the  fact  to  show  that  there  is  enterprise  and 
activity  in  the  reportorial  staff  of  a  Tropical  paper  that 
would  do  credit  to  a  Northern  journal. 

In  truth,  I  have  never  found  the  people  of  the  Tropics 
lacking  in  either  energy  or  enterprise;  the  reporters 
are  as  assiduous  in  gathering  news,  and  the  boys  as 
frantically  athletic  at  cricket  and  baseball,  here  be- 
neath the  blazing  sun  of  the  Tropics,  as  in  the  far- 
distant  North. 

I  spent  seven  weeks  in  Jamaica,  and  nearly  every  day 
was  a  busy  one.  Upon  arrival,  I  secured  quarters  at 
the  new  Myrtle  Bank  Hotel,  which  was  admirably  situ- 
ated, both  for  business  and  pleasure,  on  the  shore  of  the 
bay,  and  yet  in  or  near  the  center  of  the  town.  The 
hotel  has  broad  piazzas,  surrounded  by  rows  of  cocoa 
palms,  and  affords  fine  views  of  the  distant  hills.  The 
cocoas  were  just  high  enough  to  permit  inspection  of 
their  crowns,  and  one  could  study  the  growth  of  flower 
and  leaf,  and  watch  the  development  of  the  great  clus- 
ters of  nuts,  from  the  first  appearance  of  the  blossoms, 
protected  by  the  overhanging  spathes,  to  the  ripened 
fruit  ready  to  drop  to  the  ground.  It  was  an  interest- 
ing process,  this  evolution  of  the  cocoanut,  and  the  heart 
of  the  palm  was  a  never-ending  source  of  pleasure  to  me. 

By  moonlight,  the  bay  and  the  palm  groves  were  as 
beautiful  as  the  most  critical  artist  could  desire.  One 
night,  as  an  experiment,  I  pitched  my  camera  on   the 


498  IN    THE    WAKE    OF   COLUMBUS. 

upper  veranda,  focused  upon  a  grove  of  palms  illumined 
by  the  moon,  and  after  a  half-hour's  exposure  with  a 
rapid  plate,  secured  a  perfect  picture  by  moonlight, 
which  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  of  the  thousand 
or  so  that  I  took  in  my  travels  through  the  islands. 
Kingston,  the  capital  of  Jamaica,  although  it  has  a  fine 
situation,  on  one  of  the  best  harbors  in  the  West  Indies, 
cannot  be  called  a  handsome  city.  It  may  contain 
some  forty  thousand  inhabitants,  has  a  few  good  public 
buildings,  many  comfortable  private  residences,  and  lat- 
terly has  become  possessed  of  two  or  three  excellent 
hotels;  but  its  streets  are  dusty,  and  at  times  filthy, 
through  open  drainage ;  the  general  run  of  houses  are 
poor  and  squalid,  and  it  is  not  an  attractive  place  of 
residence  at  all.  Strange  to  say,  the  country  districts 
of  Jamaica  have  better  roads,  and  are  more  desirable 
for  winter  quarters  than  the  capital. 

But  with  Kingston  as  headquarters,  delightful  excur- 
sions may  be  made  in  many  directions  —  as  to  RioCobre 
and  the  entrancing  scenery  of  the  Bog  Walk  River,  to 
the  hills  and  the  Blue  Mountains,  and  into  the  interior. 
Around  the  entire  island  is  a  system  of  excellent  roads, 
smooth  and  hard,  leading  always  to  most  beautiful 
places,  and  even  over  the  mountains  run  regular  lines 
of  stages. 

The  island  itself  is  some  one  hundred  and  forty  miles 
long,  by  fifty  broad  in  its  widest  part,  and  contains 
about  four  thousand  square  miles,  with  hills  rising 
everywhere ;  it  has  one  mountain  seven  thousand  feet 
in  height. 

It   is   a   beautiful  island,  and    when   a  good   line    of 


JAMAICA    AND    THE    WRECK    OF   COLUMBUS.  499 

steamers  shall  be  running  regularly  and  frequently  be- 
tween it  and  the  United  States,  it  will  become  one  of 
the  most  frequented  of  winter  resorts.  A  few  years 
ago  there  was  passed  an  "hotel  act,"  by  which  capital 
was  encouraged  to  invest,  on  Government  guarantees, 
and  the  result  has  been  the  erection  of  several  first- 
class  establishments:  one  in  the  city,  the  "  Myrtle 
Bank,"  the  "  Constant  Spring,"  some  six  miles  out,  one 
at  Rio  Cobre,  and  others  in  the  interior. 

After  I  had  been  assured  that  the  Governor  would 
recommend,  and  the  Council  would  pass  an  appropri- 
ation for  Jamaica's  representation  at  our  Exposition,  and 
had  filled  the  papers  full  of  information  regarding  the 
enterprise,  my  presence  seemed  no  longer  necessary  at 
the  capital,  for  a  few  days;  I  therefore  accepted  an  in- 
vitation from  the  Director  of  the  Public  Gardens  and 
Plantations  to  go  with  him  into  the  mountains.  The 
Director,  Mr.  W.  Fawcett,  author  of  the  "Economic 
Plants  of  Jamaica,"  and  a  botanist  of  ability,  took  me  to 
the  Government  experimental  station  in  the  mountains, 
called  Cinchona,  which  is  about  six  hours'  ride  from 
Kingston,  and  situated  at  an  elevation  of  five  thousand 
feet  above  the  sea.  Such  an  opportunity  for  consulting 
with  an  acknowledged  authority  on  Jamaica's  resources 
was  not  to  be  neglected,  and  I  eagerly  embraced  it.  It 
was  an  opinion  of  mine,  and  in  this  Mr.  Fawcett  con- 
curred, that  Jamaica's  strong  point  for  an  elaborate  dis- 
play lay  in  her  natural  resources  and  attractions,  and 
especially  in  her  botanical  products.  She  could  hope 
for  little  in  the  way  of  display  from  such  things  as 
sugar,  coffee,  rum,  bananas,  etc.,  and  it  was  impressed 


500  IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

upon  me  that  she  should  try  to  elaborate  what  one 
might  term  a  foliaceous  exhibit  of  her  vast  wealth  of 
tropical  shrubs  and  trees  —  so  strange  to  Northern  eyes. 
I  would  have  had  the  different  climatic  zones  repre- 
sented by  the  varying  vegetation,  as  for  instance:  the 
exuberant  tropical  forms  of  the  coast  belt,  such  as 
plantains,  bread-fruit,  cocoa  palms,  etc.  ;  the  higher 
temperate  region  by  the  cacao,  mountain  palm,  tree- 
fern,  and  trumpet-trees;  the  mountain,  or  sub-alpine 
district,  by  the  cinchona,  gums,  locopodiums,  etc.  Thus 
the  entire  range  of  vegetation  could  be  shown  at  a 
glance. 

I  would  have  had,  also,  a  panoramic  display  as  a 
background,  such  as  the  view  of  Kingston  harbor  from 
the  sea,  with  the  golden  foot-hills,  the  purple  mount- 
ains, and  the  distant  Blue  Mountain  peak,  with  its  cir- 
cling wreath  of  clouds.  By  massing  the  tropical  forms 
in  front,  and  by  assigning  Jamaica  a  space  long  and 
narrow,  for  perspective  effect,  a  most  grand  and  effect- 
ive picture  would  be  presented  to  the  beholder;  and  the 
instructive  nature  of  such  an  exhibit  is  self-evident. 

Regarding  the  numerous  tropical  plants  to  be  re- 
moved, Jamaica,  lying  nearest  to  the  United  States  of 
any  tropical  country  having  a  perfected  system  of  bo- 
tanical stations,  and  with  every  resource  of  the  kind 
available,  could  afford  an  inexhaustible  supply.  And 
regarding  the  removal  of  the  larger  shrubs,  and  even 
trees,  the  Director  was  of  the  opinion  that  it  could 
be  successfully  accomplished.  In  preparing  for  the 
Jamaica  exposition,  he  superintended  the  removal  of 
palms  over  forty  feet  in  height,  transporting  them  three 


JAMAICA    AND    THE    WRECK    OF   COLUMBUS.  501 

miles,  and  then  planting  them  in  the  park,  without  the 
loss  of  a  tree.  He  assured  me  that  he  could  remove 
successfully  to  Chicago,  provided  direct  transportation 
Avere  afforded,  palm-trees  over  thirty  feet  high.  A  palm 
of  that  height,  such  as  is  the  native  gru-gru,  would 
weigh  some  six  tons.  The  chief  objections  would  be  cli- 
matic: they  should  be  transported  at  midsummer,  and 
guarded  against  the  night  temperature  at  Chicago.  In 
this  connection,  I  might  mention  that  the  only  other 
island  in  the  West  Indies  possessing  a  botanical  garden 
worthy  of  mention  is  Trinidad,  which  is  several  days' 
distance  farther  from  the  States  than  Jamaica.  Also, 
that  while  the  island  of  Cuba  has  essentially  the  same 
flora,  yet  there  is  no  reliable  and  organized  department 
similar  to  that  presided  over  by  Mr.  Fawcett ;  and  that, 
while  the  palms  of  Cuba  would  be  equally  worthy  of 
representation,  it  would  be  impossible  to  obtain  them, 
there  being  no  good  roads  into  the  country  districts,  etc. 
In  a  general  way,  Chicago  must  draw  upon  Mexico 
and  Central  America,  to  some  extent,  for  strange  plants, 
such  as  orchids,  etc. ;  the  north  coast  of  South  America, 
particularly  Maracaibo,  and  also  the  Amazons ;  but  it  is 
from  such  places  as  Trinidad  and  Jamaica,  where  gar- 
dens of  acclimatization  have  been  established  for  nearly 
a  century,  that  the  strangest  and  rarest  plants  may  be 
obtained  ready  at  hand.  Jamaica,  with  its  varied  flora 
— -with,  for  instance,  four  hundred  varieties  of  ferns, 
situated  at  the  very  gates  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  —  offers 
therefore  greater  attractions  to  the  managers  of  the 
botanical  department  than  any  other  country. 

I  would  like  to  describe  the  Government  garden   at 


502  IN    THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

Cinchona,  with  its  exotic  plants,  its  plantation  of  cin- 
chona trees,  coffee,  tea,  its  wild  strawberries  and  tree- 
fern  walks;  but  I  have  not  sufficient  space  for  it;  nor, 
indeed,  for  doing  justice  to  the  thousand  attractions  of 
this  glorious  island.  One  of  the  oldest  of  the  English 
islands,  its  charms  have  been  sung  many  a  time,  and 
its  resources  fully  exploited. 

In  January,  1891,  there  was  opened  here  an  exhibition 
that  approached  the  dignity  of  a  World's  Fair,  and  which 
continued  four  months.  It  was  not  financially  a  suc- 
cess, nor  did  it  serve  the  full  purpose  of  an  exposition  of 
Jamaica's  resources;  yet  it  was  far  from  proving  a  fail- 
ure. England  sent,  as  her  representative,  Prince  George, 
the  second  son  of  the  Prince  of  Wales.  Great  enthusi- 
asm was  manifested  at  the  opening;  the  buildings  and 
grounds  were  crowded,  and  from  the  moment  when  the 
Governor  presented  the  golden  key  to  the  Prince,  as 
a  declaration  that  the  exhibition  was  open,  to  the  last 
hour  of  its  official  existence,  the  best  of  order  was  main- 
tained throughout.  Every  exhibit  was  then  found  to 
be  in  place,  and  every  detail  of  the  plan  elaborated  in 
advance  was  adhered  to. 

Having  generously  contributed  to  other  exhibitions 
in  the  past,  Jamaica  at  last  thought  it  time  herself  to 
act  the  part  of  hostess,  and  invite  visitors  to  her  beauti- 
ful shores.  The  proposition  is  said  to  have  emanated 
from  the  Jamaica  Institute,  and  when  brought  to  the 
attention  of  the  Governor,  Sir  H.  E.  Blake,  it  received 
not  only  his  approval,  but  his  cordial  support.  In  an 
eloquent  address  at  a  public  meeting  in  September,  1889, 
he   set  forth   the  many  possible    advantages  likely  to 


JAMAICA    AND  THE    WRECK   OF   COLUMBUS.  503 

accrue  to  the  island  from  an  exhibition  of  her  products, 
and  added:  "  And  let  the  venture  succeed,  as  I  believe 
it  will,  or  let  it  fail  to  pay  its  way;  at  least  it  will  show 
that  Jamaica  is  up  and  doing-,  ready  to  stand  in  the 
forefront,  and  to  take  her  natural  position  as  the  Queen 
of  the  British  Antilles."  This  advanced  position  His 
Excellency  from  the  first  maintained,  and  it  was  ad- 
mitted by  many  that  his  pluck  and  energy  prevented 
the  exhibition  from  becoming  a  failure. 

The  exhibition  idea  expanded  beyond  the  original 
conception ;  the  wealthy  citizens  subscribed  freely,  and 
a  building  was  erected  over  five  hundred  feet  in  length 
and  nearly  two  hundred  in  breadth.  This  structure 
was  cruciform  in  shape,  the  main  portion  running  east 
and  west,  with  a  dome  in  the  center,  which  was  one 
hundred  feet  from  the  ground  to  the  lantern.  The  cir- 
cular roof  of  the  nave  was  supported  on  pillars,  and 
there  was  a  continuous  gallery  around  the  building, 
inside,  over  four  hundred  feet  in  length.  Although 
built  of  wood  and  cheaply  constructed,  yet  this  main 
structure,  with  its  commanding  central  dome,  its  mina- 
rets, and  semi-Moorish  ornamentation,  presented  an  im- 
posing appearance  at  a  distance.  From  the  sea  it  was 
even  magnificent :  situated  over  a  mile  and  a  half  from 
the  harbor,  with  a  broad  open  space  in  front,  and  a 
background  of  blue  and  purple  hills  towering  above 
the  sloping  Liguanea  plains. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  material  for  the  struc- 
ture came  from  the  States,  but  all  the  labor  employed 
was  native  to  the  island. 

The  grounds  attached  to  the  exhibition,  comprising 


504  IN   THE   WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

some  fifty  acres,  were  beautifully  laid  out,  with  fine 
effects,  produced  by  the  artistic  grouping  of  palms, 
tree-ferns,  bamboos,  etc.  The  entire  building  and 
grounds  were  lighted  by  electric  and  colored  lamps, 
while  on  certain  evenings  there  were  splendid  displays 
of  fireworks  which  it  would  be  hard  to  excel ;  and  on 
certain  afternoons  and  evenings  the  famous  black  band 
of  the  ist  West  India  Regiment  added  the  attraction  of 
music.  Invitations  were  sent  to  the  different  countries 
of  the  world,  and  the  somewhat  limited  space  was  soon 
filled.  Of  the  foreign  exhibitors,  the  Dominion  of 
Canada  occupied  the  greatest  space,  and  through  her 
active  commissioners  made  a  desperate  attempt  to  divert 
the  trade  of  Jamaica  to  her  shores.  That  these  en- 
deavors, though  meriting  success,  will  prove  futile,  a 
student  of  the  situation  must  be  convinced ;  for  Jamaica, 
like  most  of  the  West  Indies,  will  continue  to  trade  with 
the  nation  nearest  her  that  can  take  her  products  —  and 
that  nation  is  the  United  States. 

To  many  observers  this  exhibition  seemed  a  failure, 
it  being  specially  urged  that  Jamaica  herself  did  not 
exhibit  half  her  products.  While  it  may  have  been  the 
original  intention  to  have  more  fully  developed  the  local 
resources,  yet  it  finally  came  about  that  the  foreign 
exhibits  overtopped  the  home  products,  which  proved 
eventually,  the  best  thing  for  the  island.  Regarded 
merely  as  a  financial  risk,  it  was  foredoomed  to  failure; 
yet  that  has  been  the  fate  of  nearly  every  exhibition  of 
the  kind.  But,  considered  in  its  higher  aspects,  it  was 
certainly  a  success  of  the  most  far-reaching  kind ;  for, 
if  we  consider  its  influence  upon  the  people  alone,  with- 


ysi^^mmfmrr******-***; 


rwfsmnraBBMHM 


L, 


JAMAICA    AND   THE    WRECK   OF   COLUMBUS.  507 

out  referring  to  the  attention  it  has  called  to  the  island, 
one  cannot  but  admit  that  it  has  been  beneficial.  Only 
those  resident  among-  the  blacks  of  these  islands  can 
understand  how  it  was  that  many  of  them  refrained 
from  visiting  the  exhibition  at  first,  because  they  had 
been  told,  by  some  mischievous  person,  that  the  great 
building  was  a  vast  barracoon,  into  which  the  white 
men  were  desirous  of  enticing  them,  after  which  they 
would  shackle  them,  and  again  sell  them  into  slavery; 
they  had  been  told  this,  and  hundreds  of  them  actually 
believed  it. 

The  Jamaica  exhibition  was  a  success;  but  I  assured 
the  people  that,  to  gain  its  full  fruition,  they  must  not 
stop  at  that  one  effort  but  must  seek  their  reward  at 
Chicago,  in  1893. 

Of  the  thousands  of  interesting  things  at  the  exhibi- 
tion it  will  be  impossible  to  speak ;  but  there  was  one 
strange  exhibit  that  particularly  appealed  to  me,  be- 
cause of  its  wonderful  history.  It  was  a  bundle  of  old 
and  ragged  papers,  which,  in  the  words  of  my  friend, 
the  Rev.  J.  B.  Ellis,  the  author  of  "The  Tourist's 
Guide  to  Jamaica,"  have  "a  history  stranger  than  the 
most  far-fetched  conception  of  the  most  imaginative 
writer  of  fiction. "  I  once  wrote  a  story  in  which  I  made 
the  plot  hinge  upon  the  finding  of  two  leaves  of  an  old 
book  in  the  maw  of  a  shark.  The  book  had  been 
brought  from  New  England,  and  the  shark  was  killed 
on  the  coast  of  Yucatan,  the  leaves  so  conveniently 
found  in  his  stomach  being  necessary  to  the  elaboration 
of  the  plot.  They  had  been  lost  overboard  a  short  time 
before.      It  is  very  comforting  to  an  author,  therefore, 


508  IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

who  gives  free  rein  to  the  imaginative  faculty,  to  hap- 
pen upon  such  a  find  as  the  following.  The  old  adage, 
"truth  stranger  than  fiction,"  is  wonderfully  supporting. 
For  these  old  papers  exhibited  in  Jamaica,  and  of  which 
I  had  never  heard  before,  have  a  history  which  puts  my 
invention  to  the  blush.  It  seems  that  in  the  year  1799, 
a  brig,  the  Nancy,  was  captured  by  a  British  cutter, 
the  Spar r oil\  and  brought  into  Port  Royal,  where  her 
officers  were  put  on  trial  for  piracy.  No  papers,  how- 
ever, were  found  on  her,  and  the  prosecution  was  on 
the  point  of  breaking  down  for  want  of  evidence ;  but 
it  was  soon  forthcoming  from  an  unexpected  quarter. 
About  that  time  a  British  man-of-war  was  off  the  har- 
bor of  Jacmel,  coast  of  Haiti,  and  one  day  the  officers 
amused  themselves  by  fishing  for  sharks.  One  of  the 
sharks  caught  was  drawn  on  deck  and  cut  open,  and  in 
its  belly  the  sailors  found  a  bundle  of  papers.  Sailing 
for  Kingston  soon  after,  the  papers  were  sent  on  shore 
by  the  captain,  who  knew  nothing  of  the  capture  of  the 
Nancy.  They  arrived  while  the  trial  was  going  on, 
and  an  investigation  showed  them  to  be  the  missing 
papers  of  that  vessel,  which  had  been  thrown  overboard 
by  her  captain,  but  which  were  presented  in  court  just 
in  time  to  be  used  against  him,  and  secured  the  convic- 
tion and  subsequent  hanging  of  the  crew  of  the  vessel 
as  pirates.  Can,  indeed,  any  fiction  be  stranger  than 
this  truth? 

The  animating  and  supporting  spirit  of  the  exhibi- 
tion was  the  Governor,  Sir  H.  A.  Blake,  K.  C.  M.  G., 
formerly  executive  of  the  Bahamas,  whose  administra- 
tion in  both  the  Bahamas  and  Jamaica  has  brought  him 


JAMAICA    AND   THE   WRECK   OF   COLUMBUS.  509 

prominently  before  the  people  of  America.  He  has 
a  worthy  consort  in  his  talented  wife,  and  the  varied 
accomplishments  of  Lady  Blake  have  added  luster  to 
the  achievements  of  the  Governor.  She  is  an  artist 
of  reputation,  and  her  aquarelle  of  "the  Landfall  of 
Columbus,"  which  was  on  exhibition  at  the  Jamaica 
court,  was  but  one  of  many  meritorious  works  her 
genius  has  evoked.  Possessed  of  a  scientific  and  in- 
quiring mind,  Lady  Blake  has  left  the  impress  of  her 
talent  and  industry  wherever  she  has  been.  While  Sir 
Henry  was  Governor  of  Newfoundland,  she  made  a  col- 
lection of  water  colors  of  the  plants  of  that  country;  in 
the  Bahamas,  likewise,  she  reproduced  in  colors  all,  or 
nearly  all,  of  the  flowering  plants  of  that  chain,  exhib- 
iting at  the  Indian  and  Colonial  Exhibition  of  1886  a 
series  of  over  one  hundred.  All  were  correct  botanical 
studies,  faithful  representations  of  the  plants  illustrated, 
besides  being  artistically  beautiful.  She  has  commenced 
a  series  illustrating  the  flora  of  Jamaica;  those  that  she 
was  kind  enough  to  show  me  having,  besides  the  flow- 
ers, specimens  of  insects,  such  as  butterflies  and  moths, 
and  sometimes  bits  of  characteristic  landscape  as  a 
background.  As  to  her  indefatigable  industry  in  fer- 
reting out  the  remains  of  aboriginal  occupation,  espe- 
cially in  the  Bahamas,  I  myself  am  an  unwilling  witness, 
having  vainly  sought  for  Indian  relics  in  the  region 
visited  by  her,  and  which  I  was  desirous  of  finding. 

With  a  salary  of  six  thousand  pounds  per  annum,  and 
another  thousand  as  allowance  for  entertainment,  the 
Governor  exercises  a  lavish  hospitality,  and  the  "  King's 
House  "  is  a  most  desirable  place  to  visit. 


510  IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

From  the  delicate  attentions  of  these  gracious  people 
of  Kingston,  who  all  contributed  to  make  my  short  stay- 
in  the  island  so  agreeable,  I  was  obliged  to  tear  myself 
away,  after  my  duties  to  the  Exposition  were  accom- 
plished, and  sail  for  other  scenes. 

But  I  have  not  forgotten  that  the  great  Navigator  has 
not  even  been  mentioned  in  this  chapter.  Having  be- 
gun with  the  adventures  of  Columbus  in  Spain,  on  his 
first  voyage,  in  the  Bahamas;  having  seen  the  founda- 
tion of  the  first  city;  taken  with  him  that  eventful  sec- 
ond voyage,  and  the  equally  adventurous  third,  we  have 
only  to  trace  out  his  fourth  and  last  voyage,  in  which 
he  coasted  a  second  time  along  the  shores  of  Jamaica, 
and  explored  the  mainland  from  Yucatan  to  Darien. 
Thus  we  shall  complete  our  investigations  and  be  with 
him  at  his  death.  For  that  last  voyage  was  nothing 
less  than  that:  death  to  his  hopes,  death  to  his  hitherto 
buoyant  spirit. 

It  was  on  the  ninth  of  May,  1502,  that  Columbus  left 
Cadiz,  Spain,  on  his  fourth  and  last  voyage  to  the  New 
World,  with  four  small  vessels  and  one  hundred  and 
fifty  men.  He  found  land  about  midway  the  Caribbee 
chain  of  islands,  and  thence  steered  for  Santo  Domingo. 
The  Governor  refused  him  admittance  to  the  harbor, 
and  the  Admiral  was  compelled  to  seek  shelter  from  an 
impending  storm  in  a  small  port  on  the  south  side  of 
the  island.  The  hurricane  came,  as  Columbus  had  pre- 
dicted, and  a  fleet  of  vessels,  that  was  on  the  point  of 
sailing  for  Spain,  was  destroyed,  carrying  down  the  old 
enemy  of  the  Admiral,  Bobadilla,  who  two  years  before 
had  sent  him  to  Spain  in  chains.     With  Bobadilla  went 


JAMAICA   AND   THE    WRECK    OF   COLUMBUS. 


511 


to  the  bottom  of  the  sea  the  largest  nugget  of  gold  ever 
found  in  Santo  Domingo. 

Continuing  his  course,  Columbus  coasted  the  south 
shore  of  Haiti,  whence  he  was  swept  over  to  Cuba, 
thence  across  nearly  to   Yucatan,  and  southwardly  to 


don  Christopher's  cove,  where  Columbus's  caravels  were 

WRECKED,    1503. 

Honduras.  A  landing  was  made  at  Cape  Honduras,  near 
the  present  town  of  Truxillo,  where  large  numbers  of 
Indians  were  seen,  who  gave  the  Spaniards  provisions. 
For  several  months  after  this  the  vessels  were  beating 
about  the  Mosquito  coast,  finding  little  gold,  but  learn- 
ing of  the  rich  province  of  Veragua,  from  which  the 
grandson  of  Columbus,  Don  Luis,  derived  his  title  of 
Duke  of  Veragua,  which  is  held  by  the  only  living 
descendant  to-day. 


512  IN   THE    WAKE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

The  Admiral  explored  the  coast  as  far  south  as  Da- 
rien,  vainly  seeking  for  a  strait  or  passage  through  to  the 
Pacific,  and  at  last,  after  repeated  disaster  and  the  loss 
of  many  men,  he  shaped  his  course  northwardly.  He 
was  carried  by  the  currents  to  the  south  coast  of  Cuba, 
and  in  an  endeavor  to  regain  the  island  of  Hispaniola, 
was  swept  back  to  the  north  coast  of  Jamaica.  Here 
he  encountered  a  dreadful  storm  that  nearly  wrecked 
his  ships,  but  finally  reached  a  sheltering  harbor,  into 
which  he  ran,  on  the  last  of  June,  1503. 

His  vessels,  he  wrote,  were  bored  as  full  of  holes  as  a 
honeycomb,  he  had  lost  nearly  all  his  anchors,  and  his 
crews  were  worn  out  with  constant  watching  and  bat- 
tling with  the  elements.  Seeking  a  fit  harbor  for  the 
purpose,  the  Admiral  ran  his  sinking  ships  ashore, 
where  the  water  soon  filled  them  up  to  the  decks;  then 
he  fastened  them  together,  built  thatched  cabins  at 
prow  and  stern,  and  resigned  himself  and  men  to  a 
dreary  waiting  for  rescue  that  lasted  nearly  a  year. 

Six  months  they  waited,  and  then,  weary  of  the  re- 
straint, many  of  the  crew  broke  out  in  mutiny.  Headed 
by  one  Francisco  de  Porras,  they  broke  into  the  Ad- 
miral's cabin,  where  he  was  sick  with  the  gout,  and 
demanded  permission  to  go  on  shore.  Columbus  and 
his  brother,  Don  Bartholomew,  were  powerless  to  re- 
strain them,  and  they  departed,  ranging  the  island,  and 
eventually  committing  many  dreadful  excesses.  The 
island  of  Jamaica  swarmed  with  Indians,  who  at  first 
brought  provisions  to  the  Spaniards,  but  after  a  while 
left  them  to  their  fate.  Being  in  imminent  danger  of 
starvation,  the  Admiral  had  recourse  to  stratagem  to 


JAMAICA   AND   THE   WRECK   OF    COLUMBUS.  513 

obtain  the  needed  supplies,  and  summoning  the  ca- 
ciques of  all  the  near  tribes,  he  told  them  that  unless 
they  brought  supplies  to  him  as  he  wished,  he  should 
deprive  them  of  the  light  of  the  moon.  He  had  calcu- 
lated a  total  eclipse  of  the  moon,  due  to  take  place 
within  a  few  days,  and  availed  himself  of  his  superior 
knowledge  to  impose  upon  the  guileless  aborigines. 

True  to  his  prediction,  on  the  night  in  question,  the 
lunar  orb  was  shut  out  from  their  sight,  and  amidst 
howlings  and  supplications,  they  promised  Columbus 
anything  he  wanted  if  he  would  only  restore  the  light 
of  the  moon.  The  crafty  old  Admiral  retired  to  the 
shelter  of  his  cabin,  and  about  the  time  the  eclipse  was 
to  pass  he  emerged,  and  told  them  that  his  prayers  had 
been  heard,  and  that  the  light  would  be  restored  —  but 
only  on  condition  that  they  keep  him  supplied  with  pro- 
vision during  his  stay.  This  they  gladly  did,  and  after 
that  the  sailors  lacked  for  nothing  which  the  Indians 
could  supply. 

Having  in  mind  the  connection  of  Jamaica  with  the 
most  eventful  episode  in  the  later  voyages  of  Columbus, 
I  prepared  to  visit  the  north  coast  of  the  island  —  the 
scene  of  his  shipwreck.  I  had  identified  the  spot  where 
occurred  the  disaster  to  the  Santa  Maria,  on  the  coast 
of  Haiti,  in  December,  1492;  to  conclude  my  investiga- 
tions into  the  career  of  Columbus  in  America,  it  only 
remained  for  me  to  visit  and  determine  the  scene  of  his 
last  shipwreck,  in  1503.  Constant  demands  upon  my 
time  prevented  the  consummation  of  my  desires  until 
the  last  week  of  my  stay,  when  I  broke  away  from  town, 
and  accomplished  all  that  could  be  done. 


INDEX 


Aboriginal  Celts,  Si,  82;   seat  of  carved 

wood,  82. 
Aborigines  of  the  Bahamas,  74;  extinction 

of,  84. 
Acul,  bay  of,  219. 
Ackl'n's  Island,  go. 
Admiral's  landfall,  where  ?  85. 
Aguada,  bay  of,  392. 
Agueynaba,  Indian  cacique,  392. 
Aguadilla,  bay  of,  391. 
Ajes,  Haitien  roots,  225. 
Ajoupa,  or  Carib  hut,  196. 
Albert's  town,  Bahamas,  62. 
Alhambra,  palace  of,  8;  hall  of  justice  in, 

22. 
Alix,  Seiior,  334. 

Altars,  Santo  Domingo  cathedral,  351-356. 
Americapan,  aboriginal  word,  487. 
Americus  Vespucci,  487-489. 
Anchor,  ancient,  from   the    Santa   Maria, 

230-234. 
Anacaona,  Indian  princess,  363. 
Anguilla,  island  of,  442. 
Antigua,  island  of,  453. 
Annexation,  desired  by  West  Indies,  139. 
Antiquities,  aboriginal,  78,  350. 
Appleton,  Captain  N.,  289. 
Arenas,  islas  de,  101. 
Arroyo  of  Chancleta,  318;  port  of  Puerto 

Rico,  393. 
Astrolabe,  used  by  Columbus,  53. 
Atalaya,  Moorish  watch-tower,  68. 
Author's   table   of   islands  discovered    by 

Columbus,  102. 
Ave  Maria,  painting  of,  361. 


B 

Bahamas,  when  discovered,  55;  aborigi- 
nes of,  74;  cruise  through,  105-110;  their 
lost  opportunity,  111;  travel  in,  117; 
history  and  flora  of,  118. 

Babeque,  aboriginal  name,  217. 

Balandra  Head,  292. 

Balboa,  Marquis  de,  132. 

Bajo-Bonico,  river  of  Santo  Domingo,  262. 

Bandits  of  Cuba,  140. 

Banyan-tree,  460. 

Baptismal  book,  Santo  Domingo,  350,  378. 

Basse  terre,  town  of,  451,  457. 

Basle,  treaty  of,  371. 

Baracoa,  port  of,  162-166. 

Barbuda,  island  of,  454. 

Barcelona,  239. 

Baird,  Mr.  Alexander,  299. 

Bay  of  Samana,  293  ;  of  Arrows,  294. 

Becher,  Capt.  A.  B.,  86. 

Behechio,  Indian  cacique,  312. 

Bell,  ancient,  of  Santo  Cerro,  316;  of  the 
fig-tree,  326  ;  of  Jacagua,  276. 

Belem,  church  of,  143. 

Bellini,  Padre,  326,  374;  General,  328. 

Bellamar,  caves  of,  157. 

Beasts  of  burden,  28S. 

Berezillo,  famous  bloodhound,  39. 

Bimini,  island  of,  409. 

Bird  rock,  Bahamas,  64,  96. 

Birds  of  Bahamas,  97,  98. 

Bird  notes,  466. 

Blaine,  Hon.  J.  G.,  instructions  from,  129. 

Blake,  Sir  H.,  76,  492,  508  ;  Lady,  119,  509. 

Boatmen  of  Santo  Domingo,  278. 

Boca  del  Serpiente,  4S4. 


INDEX. 


Bog-walk  (Boca  del  agua)  river,  498. 
Bohio  (Haiti),  217. 
Boveda  (vault)  of  Columbus,  381. 
Bottom,  town  of,  431-433. 
Borinquen  (Puerto  Rico),  388. 
Bread,  native,  95. 
Bread-fruit,  443. 
Brazil-line  steamers,  413. 
Bridge  of  Pines,  18. 
Briggs,  Sir  Graham,  451. 
British  consulate  at  Puerto  Plata,  284. 
Buccaneers,  origin  of  the,  192,  196. 
Bullocks  and  bull-carts  of  Santo  Domingo, 
279,  287. 


Cacao,  fruit  of,  442. 

Cannon,   ancient,   from    Santo   Domingo, 

345  ;  from  Tortola,  425. 
Cathedral   of    Santo   Domingo,  351,  356; 

chapels  of,  356-360. 
Cat  Island,  107 ;  caves  of,  108. 
Casa  blanca,  Puerto  Rico,  407. 
Castries,  town  of,  473. 
Capesterre,  Guadeloupe,  459. 
"  Camps  in  the  Caribbees,"  459. 
Caonabo,  Indian  chieftain,  22S,  271,  311. 
Caciques  of  Espaiiola,  311. 
Castle,  oldest  in  America,  343. 
Casa  del  Cordon,  353. 
Caribs,  incised   figures  of  the,  424;    first 

discovered,    456  ;    homes    of    the,   462 ; 

speech   of    the,   465;    islands   of,    471; 

relics  of,  477  ;  black,  47S  ;  yellow,  482  : 

present  status  of,  4S4. 
Caribbee  Islands,  461. 
Caravels  of  Columbus,  217. 
Cadiz,  city  of,  240. 
Cathay,  mention  of,  103. 
Carved  seats  of  lignum  vitae,  82. 
Cannibalism  in  Haiti,  190. 
Captain-general  of  Cuba,  131. 
Cattle,  loading,  coast  of  Cuba,  161. 
Canary  Islands,  54. 
Caves,  of   Watling's   Island,   76 ;   of  Cat 

Island,  77. 
Casa  de  Colon,  344. 
Cassava,  native  bread,  95. 
Cambiaso.  Mr.,  374. 


Castillo,  Mr.,  374. 

Canoe,  first  seen  by  Europeans,  72  ;   found 

in  a  cave,  89. 
Cartman,  encounter  with  a,  281. 
Ceboyan  (Indian  of  the  Bahamas),  75. 

Celts,  Indian  antiquities,  81,274;  of  Ba- 
hamas, compared  with  others,  S2. 

Chateaubelair,  town  of,  476. 

Chicago,  commissioners  meet  in,  122  ;  its 
spirit  of  enterprise,  123  ;  Herald's  ex- 
pedition, 101. 

Christmas,  first  American,  217. 

Christophe,  emperor  of  Haiti,  202  ;  palace 
and  castle  of,  206-216. 

Charlotte  Amalia,  St.  Thomas,  415. 

Cibao  (land  of  gold),  225,  260;    hotel,  2S2. 

Cipango,  98. 

Club  del  comercio,  Santo  Domingo,  2S3. 

Cockburn  town,  Watling's  Island.  I  4. 

Coaling  stations  in  the  West  Indies,  414, 
416. 

Codrington  family  and  college,  454. 

Colardeau,  M.  St.  Felix,  459. 

Cocoa  palms,  study  of,  497. 

Columbus,  first  appearance  of,  at  Granada, 
15;  before  Isabella,  17;  at  the  Bridge 
of  Pines,  iS:  birth  and  early  years,  24; 
in  Portugal,  24;  arrival  in  Spain,  24; 
at  Cordova  and  Salamanca,  24  :  at  the 
Monastery  of  La  Rabida,  25  ;  signs  ca- 
pitulation with  Spanish  sovereigns,  26  ; 
sets  out  for  Palos,  26;  memorials  of,  26; 
marble  tablet  to,  27  ;  again  at  La  Rabida, 
3S ;  departure  on  first  voyage,  52  ;  his 
discoveries  at  sea,  54:  landfall  of,  56; 
landing-place  at  Watling's  Island,  69; 
journal  of,  55  ;  landing  of,  in  the  Baha- 
mas, 71 ;  description  by,  of  the  Indians, 
71  ;  aborigines  discovered  by,  73  et  seq.  : 
landfall  of,  critically  examined,  85  et 
seq.;  at  Guanahani,  89;  sails  around 
Guanahani,  90  ;  discovers  other  islands, 
92-96 ;  sails  for  Cuba,  101  ;  statue  of,  at 
Nassau,  116;  tablet-bust  of,  Havana, 
121,  151;  instructions  to  commissioner 
regarding  relics  of,  128  :  bust  and  statues 
of,  Cuba,  149,  150;  alleged  remains  of, 
Havana,  151  ;  on  coast  of  Cuba,  1- 
wreck  of  flag-ship,  Santa  Maria.  221  : 
guest  of   Guacanagan,  222  :    builds  fort 


INDEX. 


at  Navidad,  225 ;  coasts  shores  of  Santo 
Domingo,  235  ;  discovers  mermaids  and 
gold,  236 ;  enters  Samana  Bay,  294 ; 
fir.^t  sheds  Indian  blood,  294  ;  hears  of 
the  Amazon  Island,  295;  sails  for  Spain, 
238  ;  anchors  at  Palos,  239  ;  is  received 
at  court,  at  Barcelona,  239 ;  departs  on 
second  voyage,  240;  founds  town  of 
Isabella,  241  et  seq.  ;  explores  interior 
of  Santo  Domingo,  261  ;  finds  gold  and 
erects  fort,  267  ;  views  the  Royal  Plain, 
30S;  subjugates  the  Indians,  312  ;  makes 
slaves  of  Indians,  313  ;  erects  a  cross  at 
Santo  Cerro,  314;  builds  forts  in  the 
mountains,  321;  where  were  the  bones 
of?  363-387;  the  tomb  of,  363  ;  statue  of, 
Santo  Domingo,  363,369 ;  duality  of,  363  ; 
first  burial-place,  364;  second  burial- 
place,  364 ;  remains  of,  taken  to  Santo 
Domingo,  367  ;  alleged  transfer  to  Cuba, 
371 ;  boveda,  or  vault,  of.  Santo  Domingo 
cathedral,  373,  384;  recent  discovery  of 
remains,  373  ;  casket  containing  ashes 
°fj  375,  377  ;  tablet  above  vault  of,  3S4  ; 
author  views  remains  of,  386 ;  opinion 
as  to  last  resting-place,  3S7 ;  discovers 
Puerto  Rico,  3SS ;  returns  to  Santo  Do- 
mingo, 389 ;  second  voyage  of,  455 ; 
third  voyage  of,  484 ;  among  the  Pearl 
Islands,  4S6;  imprisoned,  487  ;  last  voy- 
age of,  510  ;  on  coast  of  Honduras  and 
Veragua,  511  ;  is  driven  by  storm  to 
Jamaica,  512  ;  strands  his  vessels  at 
Santa  Gloria,  512  ;  predicts  an  eclipse  of 
the  moon,  513  ;  scene  of  shipwreck  in 
Jamaica,  514;  last  venture  of,  515  ;  death 
of,  515  ;  Bartholomew,  brother  of  Chris- 
topher, 338  ;  burial-place  of,  353  ;  Diego, 
son  of  Christopher,  345  ;  house  of,  344  ; 
in  chains,  349 ;  Don  Luis,  grandson  of 
Christopher,  373. 

Commissioners,  appointed,  122  ;  depart  on 
their  mission,  123  ;  instructions  to,  124  ; 
local,  appointed  in  Cuba,  131. 

Compass,  variation  of,  noted  by  Colum- 
bus, 53. 

Concepcion  de  la  Vega,  321;  fortress  of, 
323  ;  relics  from,  325. 

Conquistadores,  27,  29,  276. 

Col  ton,  first  discovered  by  Columbus,  90. 


Cotubanama,  Indian  cacique,  311. 

Conchs  of  the  Bahamas,  118. 

Crania,  Indian,  75,  77,  165. 

Crooked  Island,  Bahamas,  60,  96. 

Cross  of  Santo  Domingo,  358  ;  of  Santo 
Cerro,  360. 

Cuba,  discovered,  101  ;  circumnavigated, 
103;  the  author  in,  121;  political  state 
oi>  137;  bandits  in,  140;  outline  of  his- 
tory of,  147  ;  as  a  center  of  colonization, 
153  ;  along  the  north  coast  of,  159. 

Curacao,  island  of,  487. 

Curtis,  Mr.  YV.  E.,  145. 


D 


Dare,  Virginia,  birth  of,  195. 

Dessalines,  Haitien  general,  201. 

Diamond  Rock,  472 

Divers,  black,  at  Nassau,  113 

Diaz,   Miguel,   discovers    gold    in    Santo 

Domingo,  338. 
Diego  Columbus,  son  of  Christopher,  345. 
Dog,  the  dumb,  163. 
Domingo  Rubio,  river  of  Spain,  40. 
Dominicans,  297. 
Dominica,  island  of,  462. 
Don  Christopher's  Cove,  Jamaica,  515. 
Douglas,  F.,  16S. 
Drake,  Sir  F.,  194,  195. 
Duquesne,  Marquis  of,  132. 
Durham,  Mr.,  34S. 


E 


Eco  del  Pueblo  newspaper,  334. 

Earthquake-buried  cities,  321. 

Ellis,  Rev.  J.  B.,  493- 

English  in  West  Indies,  in;  first  appear- 
ance in  West  Indies,  193. 

Escudo  (coat  of  arms),  ancient,  354. 

Espanola  (Santo  Domingo),  238. 

Exposition,  directions  from  executives  of, 
123;  exploiting  the,  in  Cuba,  135:  in 
Haiti,  176;  first  foreign  building  at, 
179;  ancient  relics  for  the,  276,  320; 
the  Jamaica,  493  et  seq. 


INDEX. 


Farm,  a  Bahaman,  66. 

Fajardo,  port  of  Puerto  Rico,  393. 

Fauna  of  Bahamas,  98. 

Fawcett,  Mr.,  Jamaica,  499. 

Fernandina,  Bahamas,  95. 

Filibusters,  their  origin,  196. 

Fort  de  France,  Martinique,  469. 

Fortune  Island,  Bahamas,  57  ;  sharks  of, 

61. 
Fountain  of  Youth,  409. 
Fox,  Capt.  G.  V.,  86. 
Frenchman's  Wells,  Bahamas,  98. 
French,  first  voyages  of,  to  West  Indies, 

193  ;     planters    in    West     Indies,    193 ; 

massacre  of,  in  Haiti,  200. 
Fruits  of  the  West  Indies,  461. 


Galleons,  Spanish,  197. 

Galvan,  Senor,  326. 

Game-cocks  of  Puerto  Rico,  405. 

Garcilasso  de  la  Vega,  12. 

Ghosts  of  Isabella,  25S. 

Gherardi,  Admiral,  493. 

Gibbs,     George,    paper     on    landfall     of 

Columbus,  S7. 
Goat  without  horns,  the,  190. 
Gold,  altar  gilded  with  first,  from  America, 

49;  first  seen  in  America,  by  Columbus, 

72;  discovered  by  Columbus,  237,  259; 

of    the    river    Yanico,    267 ;    dust    and 

flakes  from  the  Yanico,   274;    of  river 

Hayna,  339. 
Golden   sands,   river  of  the,   275 ;    grove 

estate  of,  476. 
Golfo  de  las  Flechas,  294. 
Gonaives,  island  of,  167. 
Gosnold,  B.,  in  West  Indies,  195. 
Graham's  Harbor,  Bahamas,  91. 
Granada,   gardens  of,  1 :    conquest  of,  8, 

"5- 
Grand  Turk,  island  of,  83,  87. 
Grand  Khan,  the,  163. 
Green's  Harbor,  Bahamas,  93. 
Guacanagari,    Indian     cacique,   219,    222, 

227;    possessions  of,  311;    ill-treatment 

and  fate  of,  390. 


Guarico,  Indian  tuwn,  222,  224,  227. 

Guarionex,  cacique,  311,  321  ;  province  of,, 
taken  by  Columbus,  312. 

Guadalquivir,  river  of,  30. 

Guadeloupe,  island  of,  455-462. 

Guanahani,  first  land  discovered  by  Colum- 
bus, 72;  described  by  Columbus,  90; 
author's  departure  from,  106. 

Gundlach,  Dr.,  of  Cuba,  145. 


H 

Haiti,  derivation  of  the  word,  218; 
author's  arrival  at,  167  ;  foreigners  and 
their  rights  in,  171  ;  the  president  of, 
175;  resources  of,  179;  decadence  ofr 
182;  revolutions  in,  182;  description 
of,  186;  martial  law  in,  187;  massacre 
in,  200. 

Haitien  revolutionists,  183 ;  civilization, 
the,  187;  serpent  worship,  1S8;  inde- 
pendence, 201 ;  Cape,  203-226. 

Hammocks,  when  first  seen  by  Columbus, 
74- 

Hatuey,  Cuban  cacique,  164. 

Hawkins,  Sir  John,  194. 

Hawk's  bells,  used  in  trade  with  Indians, 

325- 

Hayna,  gold  region  of,  339. 

Haynes-Smith,  Sir  W.  F.,  453. 

Hamilton,  Alexander,  birthplace  of,  451. 

Havana,  cathedral  of,  130;  author's  ar- 
rival at,  131;  a  glance  at,  136;  news- 
papers of,  142,  148;  art  and  literature 
of,  143;  museums  of,  144;  the  founding 
of,  149;  captain-general's  palace  in,  150. 

Henwood,  Cornwall,  445. 

Herrera,  historian,  70. 

Heureaux,  President,  of  Santo  Domingo, 
39i- 

High  woods,  the,  459. 

Holy  hill,  the,  302. 

Horses,  first  used  in  America,  263. 

Homenage,  castle  of  the,  341,  362. 

Hotels  of  Jamaica,  499. 

Huelva,  city  of,  48. 

Hungria,  Senor,  268. 

Hutia,  or  utia,  animal  of  Cuba,  164. 

Hyot,  M.  Charles,  460. 


INDEX. 


Icterus  Oberi  (a  West  Indian  bird),  453. 

Iguana,  the,  101. 

Imperial  parrot,  466. 

Inscriptions  on  Columbus  casket,  375,  380. 

Inagua,  island  of,  56. 

Indians  first  seen  by  Columbus,  71 ;  dis- 
covered by  Columbus,  73 ;  crania  of 
Lucayan,  75;  antiquities  of  the,  78;  of 
Haiti,  217;  of  Santo  Domingo,  263, 
271;  of  Samana  Bay,  294;  Indian  ca- 
ciques of  Santo  Domingo,  311. 

Invisible  bird,  the,  481. 

Irving,  Washington,  references  to,  55; 
theory  of  landfall,  87. 

Isabella,  queen,  at  Santa  Fe,  15;  island 
of,  101  ;  town  of,  founded,  241-246  ; 
author's  visit  to,  243  ;  relics  and  remains 
of,  248-250  ;  abandonment  of,  251  ;  map 
of,  251  ;  idols  from,  256. 


Jacagua,  ancient  city  of,  275;  view  of, 
329  ;  ruins  of,  334  ;  history  of,  336. 

Jamaica,  492-515 ;  author's  visit  to,  492; 
the  Institute  of,  494 ;  newspapers  of, 
497 ;  hotels  of,  499 ;  floral  display  of, 
500;  exposition  of,  502;  Columbus  in, 
J'2-515- 

Jibara,  Cuba,  port  entered  by  Columbus, 
159- 

Josephine,  empress,  birthplace  of,  469. 

Journal  of  Columbus,  71,  SS,  89. 


K 

King's  House,  Jamaica,  494 
Kingston,  Jamaica,  492  et  seq. 
Kingstown,  St.  Vincent,  474,  476. 


Ladder,  the,  of  Saba,  429. 
Lake  dwellers,  of  Venezuela,  48S-490. 
Landfall  of  Columbus,  55,  85,  90;  authori- 
ties on,  87. 
La  Ferriere,  castle  of,  206,  216. 
La  Merced,  church  of,  355. 


Las  Casas,  Bishop,  354. 

Latin-American  Department,   Exposition, 

122,  146. 
Le  Clerc,  General,  in  Haiti,  201. 
Lemonade,  Count  of,  202. 
Llenas,  Dr.,  289. 
Lombard,  ancient,  from  Santo  Domingo, 

317- 
Long  Island,  Bahamas,  95. 
Lonja  at  Seville,  archives  of,  27. 
Loup-garous,  of  Haiti,  189. 
Lucayan  Indians,  of  Bahamas,  74 ;  skulls 

of,  75. 
Luquillo,  mountain  of,  393. 

M 

Macuquina  (cut  coins)  of  Puerto  Rico, 

407. 
Mail,  coat  of,  fragment  found,  289. 
Manatees  of  the  Rio  Yaqui,  236. 
Madanino,  island  of,  295. 
Manuscripts,  ancient,  350. 
Ma'acaibo,  gulf  of,  488. 
Marmalade,  Duke  of,  202. 
Martinique,  island  of,  466-470. 
Marigalante,  island  of,  456. 
McLelland,  Mr.,  298. 
McLain,  Mr.,  consul  at  Nassau,  115. 
Matanzas,  Cuba,  157;   manchineel  apples, 

194. 
Martyr,  Petrus,  old  writer,  163. 
Marco  Polo,  as  read  by  Columbus,  163. 
Mama-loi,  Voudous  priestess,  190. 
Maysi,  Cape  of,  Cuba,  165. 
Melpomene,  bust  of,  216. 
Mermaids,  found  by  Columbus,  236. 
Merino,  Monsenor,  350. 
Mint,  old,  Santo  Domingo,  356,  359. 
Misery,  Mount,  449. 
Monument  at  Isabella,  289. 
Montserrat,  island  of,  451. 
Monte  Cristi,  Columbus  at,  235. 
Moclin,  siege  of,  21 . 
Moguer,  and  Palos,  33  ;  church  at,  36. 
Monastery  of  La  Rabida,  38-48. 
Morgan,  the  pirate,  197. 
Moreau  de  St.  Mery,  historian,  368. 
Morro,  of  Havana,  133  ;  of  Puerto  Rico, 

406. 


INDEX. 


Murdock,  Lieutenant,  87. 
Murillo,  painting  ascribed  to,  358. 
Myrtle-bank  hotel,  Jamaica,  497. 
Millot,  valley  of,  20S. 

N 

Nairn,  Captain,  65. 

Nassau,  Bahamas,  109,  115. 

Navarrete,  historian,  89. 

Navassa,  island  of,  515. 

Navidad,   fortress  of,   226;    site  of,  227; 

massacre  at,  228,  240. 
Negroes,  brought  to  Haiti,  198. 
Nelson,  Lord,  at  Nevis,  451. 
Nevis,  island  of,  451. 
New  Providence,  island  of,  109. 
Newport,  Sir  C,  195. 
Nouet,  Governor,  457. 
Nuevitas,  Cuba,  159. 
Nuggets  of  gold,   Santo   Domingo,   267 : 

large,  from  Santo  Domingo,  340. 


O'Brien,  Rev.  Father,  289. 

Ojeda,   Alonzo  de,   272 ;    burial-place   of, 

353;    in   Guadeloupe,   456;    voyage   of, 

487. 
Ovies,  Don  Ricardo,  335. 
Ozama  River,  340. 


Padre,  the,  of  Santo  Cerro,  316. 

Palos,  author's  visit  to,  31 ;  Irving's  jour- 
ney to,  31;  village  and  church  of,  33, 
34;  to  La  Rabida,  37;  return  of  Colum- 
bus to,  239. 

Palms  of  Cuba,  125. 

Papa-loi,  priest  of  the  Voudous,  190. 

Papers,  old,  recovered  from  a  shark,  508. 

Paria,  gulf  of,  486 

Passailaigue,  Mr.,  owner  of  Isabella,  289. 

Parrots,  seen  by  Columbus,  90. 

Pearls,  pink,  11S. 

Pearl  islands,  the,  4S6. 

Petit  Anse,  Haiti,  227. 

Petrifactions  of  Antigua,  454 

Peter  the  Great,  a  buccaneer,  197. 

Piccolet,  Point,  Haiti,  226. 


Phipps,  Sir  William,  finds  treasure,  198. 

Pinzon,  Martin  Alonzo,  25,  71,  237. 

Pitch  Lake,  of  Trinidad,  485. 

Pitons  of  St.  Lucia,  473. 

Plant  Line  steamers,  to  Havana,  151. 

Poey,  Don  Felipe,  144. 

Ponce  de  Leon,  conquistador,  390  ;  house 
of,  407 ;  discovers  Florida,  409 ;  last 
resting-place,  410;  epitaph  on,  411. 

Ponce,  port  of  Puerto  Rico,  394. 

Pointe  a  pitre,  Guadeloupe,  457. 

Porte  au  Prince,  Haiti,  167 ;  streets  of, 
169;  revolutions  in,  170;  newspapers  of, 
170;  massacre  in,  1S4. 

Port  Royal,  Jamaica,  493. 

Porvenir,  el,  newspaper,  288. 

Privilegio  (immunity),  357. 

President  of  Santo  Domingo,  the,  285. 

Puerta  de  Perdon,  the,  357;  bautismo, 
the,  361. 

Puerto  Plata,  238,  277  et  seq. 

Puerto  de  los  Caballeros,  the,  262. 

Puerto  Rico,  island  of,  388-412;  when 
discovered,  388;  arms  of,  388;  settle- 
ment of,  393  ;  capital  of,  394 ;  captain- 
general  of,  401  ;  aborigines  of,  402. 

Q 

Quadrupeds  seen  by  Columbus,  90;  of 
Cuba,  164. 

Quebec  Line  steamers,  453. 

Quisqueya,  native  name  of  Santo  Do- 
mingo, 218. 


Rabida,  La,  monastery  of,  38;  Columbus 
at,  38 ;  description  of,  40 ;   mirador  of, 

47- 

Raleigh,  Sir  W.,  at  Trinidad,  195. 

Railroad  in  Santo  Domingo,  286 ;  from 
Samana  to  Santiago,  299,  301. 

Reed,  Don  Juan,  34S. 

Repartimientos  (apportionments  of  In- 
dians), 392. 

Riding  Rocks,  harbor  of,  64. 

Rio  del  Oro,  235,  263. 

Rio  Tinto,  Spain,  31,  40. 

Restos  (remains)  of  Columbus,  363-387; 
"los,  de  Colon,"  384. 


INDEX. 


Roque  Cocchia,  Monseiior,  384. 
Route  of  Columbus,  map  of,  99. 
Royal  Academy  of  Spain,  3S1. 
Royal  Plain,  the,  308,  319. 
Rum  Cay,  Bahamas,  92,  106. 


Saba,  island  of,  420-447. 

Saints  and  Virgins,  413-425. 

Saint  Ann's,  Jamaica,  bay  of,  514;   Barts, 

island    of,   442;      Eustatius,    442,   449; 

John's,  413,  423  ;   Kitt's,  448,  450  ;  Mar- 
tins, 442  ;  Thomas,  414  et  seq.  ;  Ursula, 

413;   Vincent,  474-4S4. 
Saint  Vincent,  volcano  of,  4S1 ;  Caribs  of, 

4S3. 
Saint  John,  Sir  Spencer.  1S5. 
Saint  Lucia,  472 ;   Pierre,  city  of,  467. 
Saint  Nicolas,  Mole,  21S. 
Saltes,  bar  of,  Spain,  48. 
Samana,  bay  of,  292,  296. 
Sanchez,  Santo  Domingo,  298,  302 
Sanctissima  Trinidad,  357. 
San-coche,  native  dish,  308. 
San  Antonio,  church  of,  355  ;  Jose  de  las 

Matas,  272,  274;   Juan  de  Puerto  Rico, 

395  ;   Nicolas,  church  of,  354  ;    Miguel, 

church  of,  355  ;    Francisco,  convent  of, 

353- 
Sans  souci,  palace  of,  20S. 
Santa  Barbara,  church  of,  355  ;   town  of, 

296;  Cruz,  island  of,  413;   Fe,  city  of, 

Spain,  9,  10;   Gloria,  bay  of,  Jamaica, 

5M- 
Santa  Maria,  flag-ship  of  Columbus,  220; 

wreck  of  the,  222  ;  reliquia  (holy  relic), 

357 
Santiago  de  los  Caballeros,  city,  26S;  road 

to,  331  ;   description  of,  332. 
Santo  Cerro,  shrine  of,  306-310;  cross  of, 

357- 
Santo  Domingo,  city  of,  33S-346  ;    people 

of,   348  ;      cathedral   of,    350,   356-362  ; 

church   of,  354;    convents  of,  356-362; 

island  of,  259-387. 
Sargasso  Sea  and  weed,  52,  53,  70. 
Saunders,  Mr.,  vice-consul,  U.  S.,  Nassau, 

115. 
Savannas  of  Santo  Domingo,  303. 


Second  voyage  of  Columbus,  240. 

Sereno  (night-watchman),  2S4. 

Serpent-worship  in  Haiti,  188. 

Seville,  Spain,  treasures  of,  26-30. 

Sharks,  in  the  Bahamas,  61. 

Shea,  Sir  Ambrose,  109. 

Silk-cotton  tree,  116. 

Silver  mountain-port  of  the,  277. 

Silla  (choir-stall),  Santo  Domingo,  357. 

Skull,  aboriginal,  75,  77. 

Slave-trade,  growth  of,  198-300. 

Smith,  Captain  John,  in  the  West  Indies, 
195. 

Spain,  allusion  to  early  history  of,  5. 

Soufnere  of  St.  Lucia,  473  ;  of  St.  Yin- 
cent,  481. 

Stewart,  Mr.,  consul  at  Puerto  Rico,  398. 

Swords  of  the  conquistadores,  336. 

Sun  dial,  old,  Santo  Domingo,  346. 


Tejera,  Sr.,  Emiliano,  384. 
Teivplete  of  Havana,  149. 
"  Thunderbolts"  (Indian  celts),  81. 
Tobacco,  first  found,  95  ;  seen  in  Cuba,  by 
Columbus,  15S;  of  Santo  Domingo,  286. 
Tomb  of  Columbus,  314. 
Toledo  swords,  found  in  Santo  Domingo, 

336- 
Tortola,  old  coins  of,  425. 
Tortuga,  island  of,  56,  193. 
Torrecilla  de  Colon,  343. 
Toussaint  l'Ouverture,  200. 
Trade  winds,  53. 
Tree  of  Columbus,  314. 
Tree  ferns,  440. 
Trinidad,  island  of,  484-486. 
Turk's  Island,  82,  163. 

U 

University,  the  first  in  America,  354. 
Utia,  or  dumb  dog,  74,  164. 


Van  Horne,  Dutch  privateer,  197. 
Vega,  the  royal,  Santo  Domingo,  299,  305. 
30S. 


INDEX. 


Vega  Vieja  (old  vega),  321 ;  church  of,  325  ; 

bell   obtained   at,   326;    excavations  at, 

329- 
Veragua,  Duke  of,  372. 
Verde,  Rio,  330. 

Velasquez,  paintings  ascribed  to,  360. 
Venezuela,  discovery  of,  489. 
Vespucci,  Americus,  487-489. 
Virgin  of  Providencia,  398  ;  Gorda,  423. 
Voudouism,  in  Haiti,  189. 

W 

Ward  Line,  steamers  of,  109,  120. 
Washerwomen    of   Haiti,   290 ;    of    Santo 

Domingo,  297. 
Watling's   Island,    56,   65;    map   of,   85; 

natives  of,  105. 


Wellman,  Walter,  explores  Bahamas,  102. 
Wilberforce's  plea  in  House  of  Commons, 
199. 


Yagua  ("  palm  bark  "),  308. 

Yanico,  Santo   Tomas   de,  264;    first  fort 

built  at,  267,  272  ;  author's  visit  to,  268. 
Yaqui  River,  236,  337  ;  valley  of  the,  263. 
Yumuri  valley,  Cuba,  155. 
Yunque,  Cuban  mountain,  162  ;  mountain 

of  Puerto  Rico,  411. 


Zubia,  crosses  of,  21. 


GETTY  CENTER  LIBRARY 


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